Brief Description: We are thrilled to announce M.B. Dallocchio as our guest artist for the June 2021 Drink & Draw. Grab your drawing supplies and your sketchbook to learn how to create a mixed-media sketch book. This month’s format will be a little different because we will be showing M.B.’s pre-recorded workshop so you may get the best visuals of the work she is demonstrating. The artist and our education staff will still be available live to answer any questions. No experience necessary. M.B. Dallocchio is a London-based Chamorro artist, author, and social worker who specializes in artistic psychosocial rehabilitation. Dallocchio served as a medic, mental health sergeant, and retention NCO in the US Army for eight years. While on deployment to Ramadi, Iraq in 2004-2005, she served as a member of "Team Lioness," the first female team that was attached to Marine infantry and Special Forces units to perform checkpoint operations, house raids, and personnel searches on Iraqi women and children for weapons and explosives. In addition to having been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, Huffington Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, PBS, Yahoo! News, and many other media outlets covering facing injustice during and after combat, she also speaks out on women and minority issues, post-traumatic resilience, and the importance of self-empowerment. Dallocchio received her MSW from the University of Southern California and is a David L. Boren Scholar in Czech studies and international relations. She currently produces art tutorials and virtual exhibits on Veteran Art Studio via YouTube and other social media platforms. Her current virtual gallery exhibit, Fuetsan Famalao'an: A Journey Through Chamorro Matriarchy, is on display from 01 May - 31 Jul 2021. It features a chronology of Indigenous Chamorro women and survival from matriarchal society through centuries of multilateral colonization and military occupation. REGISTER HERE Learn more about the artist here: https://www.thedesertwarrior.com/ This event is free of charge and open to anyone who registers. We will send you a link to join the event after you register. Program funding made possible by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation through the generous support of Generac Power Systems.

Grab some popcorn and a seat in your favorite chair, and join us for a Movie Night and Virtual Discussion with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Staff. While we can’t all be together, we can share discussion on major motion pictures that deal with the hardships, humor, and horrors of combat. The Sand Pebbles will be our feature for May, which is the story of naval gunboat crew on the Yangtze River facing upheaval in China during the mid-1920’s. Starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, and Candice Bergen, this Academy Award winning film deserves a spot on our list. Your mission is to watch the movie on your own and review the questions we provide you before this discussion event. On May 28, 2021, at 7:00 pm we’ll all meet via Zoom for a conversation led by museum staff. We will cover themes such as conflict, politics, pop culture, the military, and movie-making. After you register, we will email you the discussion questions and a link to join the virtual discussion via Zoom. This event is free and open to the public and suitable for mature audiences. REGISTER HERE

While the Wisconsin Veterans Museum has been closed, the staff have reimagined the permanent exhibit presentation and refreshed some of the stories that are being told there. Join Chris Kolakowski, WVM Director, and Kevin Hampton, WVM Curator of History, as they discuss the project and share some of the new stories that will be on display when the museum reopens.  Program funding made possible by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation through the generous support of Generac Power Systems. REGISTER HERE

Grab some popcorn and a seat in your favorite chair and join us for a Movie Night and Virtual Discussion with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Staff. While we can’t all be together yet, we can share discussion on major motion pictures that deal with the hardships, humor, and horrors of combat. Our film for April is the 1957 classic, The Bridge on the River Kwai. This WWII drama stars William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa and focuses on British POW’s tasked to build a bridge while allied planners plot to destroy it.   Your mission is to watch the movie on your own and review the questions we provide you before this discussion event. On April 30, 2021, at 7:00 pm we’ll all meet via Zoom for a conversation led by museum staff. We will cover themes such as conflict, politics, pop culture, the military, and movie-making.   After you register, we will email you the discussion questions and a link to join the virtual discussion via Zoom. This event is free and open to the public and suitable for all ages.  REGISTER HERE

Join us via ZOOM for a discussion with Adam Holton, former Commanding Officer of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines. In 2004 Holton took Madison-based Golf Company to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Holton arrived a few months after the situation in Iraq had turned into full-scale insurgency. Challenged with a mission in an area of operation that was almost 50% Shia and 50% Sunni, Holton and the members of Golf Company learned to build trust. Since returning from deployment, Holton has stayed connected with the important effort of supporting veterans and conveying the importance of our country fulfilling the social contract we have with them. Currently, he is writing a book telling stories of the individuals he served with. REGISTER HERE