Just a little love letter to Racine County about all the great things about it.
1.) Lake Michigan
2.) The Harbor
3.) North Beach
4.) And the pride of knowing that our beach is rated one of the best in the country.
5.) Fishing
6.) Fireworks on the 4th of July downtown.
7.) Main Street Parades
9.) O&H Kringle
10.) And their trusty mascot Ohlaf the Kringle Baker
11.) Lehmann's Kringle
12.) Bendtsen's Kringle
13.) Larsen's Kringle
15.) Almond Kringle being named the best Trader Joe Bakery item of 2017.
16.) Shopping Downtown Racine
17.) Kewpee Burger
18.) The Racine Public Libraries and their weekly workshops and activities.
19.) Ice Skating on Monument Square in the winter.
20.) Memorial Hall
21.) Our Roller Derby Team - The Root River Rollers
23.) Burlington's Chocolatefest
25.) Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture
26.) Wingspread
27.) The retro style of the laboratories in the S.C. Johnson Research Tower
28.) The Great Workroom at S.C. Johnson
29.) The Golden Rondelle Theatre (featured at the 1964-1965 World's Fair)
30.) Boo at the Zoo
31.) Italian Fest
33.) The Over Our Head Players at Sixth Street Theatre
34.) Horlick Field
35.) and the Racine Belles baseball team that played there and brought inspiration to the movie A League of Their Own
37.) The glowing architecture of The Racine Art Museum at night.
38.) The Art Projects held each summer in front of Downtown Racine shops
39.) The Orchards at Apple Holler.
40.) The Eco-Justice Center
41.) The Burlington Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum
42.) Sunday Morning and Thursday Night Great Lakes Farmer's Markets at Milaeger's.
43.) Seven Keys To Escape
44.) Br8kout Escape Rooms
45.) Grabbing the perfect Jack-O-Lantern at Swan's Pumpkin Farm in the Fall
46.) The Bird's Eye View from the Wind Point Lighthouse
47.) Camping at Jellystone Park
48.) Driving through the Christmas Carnival of Lights
49.) Belle City Brew Fest
Photo Courtesy of Great Lakes Brew Fest
51.) Brunch at Blue Bear
52.) The Animal Crackers Concert Series at the Racine Zoo.
53.) The ideal proximity that we have between Milwaukee and Chicago.
54.) Our hometown magazine, Belle City
55.) The Wall of Customer-Owned Liquors at the Carriage House
56.) Summers on John's Dock.
57.) The Famous Sand Dollar Potatoes at Yardarm Bar & Grill
58.) The Lakefront View from Reefpoint Brewhouse
59.) French Macarons at Divino Gelato
60.) The Bloody Mary Bar at Robert's Roost
61.) Dining with Indian Motorcycles at The Nash
62.) First Fridays
64.) The artist spaces at 16th Street Studios
65.) Get Behind the Arts Weekend
66.) The Racine Heritage Museum
67.) The Carne Asada Fries at Pico's Tacos
68.) The Ugly Mug of The Week on Racine & Me
69.) Racine Drip Tees designed by Dee Hutch
70.) Produce stands in the summer.
71.) Treating yourself to a Bed and Breakfast stay at the Christmas House
72.) Browsing the wine selection at Uncorkt
73.) Acting like you own the place with Wild Root Co-Op Market
74.) Concerts at Route 20
75.) The Andres el Gigante Challenge at 911 Tacos
77.) It's pronounced "Ray-Seen"
78.) Infusino's Pizza
79.) Wells Brothers Pizza
81.) Derango's Pizza
83.) Derango the Original Pizza King
84.) The fact that #80-83 were all different pizza parlors
85.) The Hot Cocoa Bar at The Rush
86.) Selecting your steak knife of choice at Butcher and Barrel
87.) The Christmas Tree Lighting at Monument Square
88.) Kayaking on the Root River
89.) Taking selfies in the bank vaults at The Branch at 1501
90.) The Moscow Mule Mugs on the ceiling at Toad Hall
91.) Art Root Mixers
92.) Bonk! Events
93.) Lake Michigan Sunrise
Photo Courtesy of My Eyes Photography by Scott Olsen
94.) Trying all the soups at The Soup Shanty
95.) Taking a step back in time at the HobNob
96.) The arcade games at the top floor of The Brickhouse
97.) Living our childhood dreams at The Sugar Shack Sweet Shop
98.) The D.P. Wigley General Store
99.) Sending K.P. Toffee to loved ones around holidays
100.) Getting Loukoumades (honey puffs) at the Greek Festival
101.) Taking horse drawn carriage rides during First Friday
102.) Ordering all the tapas at Olde Madrid
103.) Finding classic treasures and summer flea markets at The School Days Antique Mall
104.) Getting a Loaded Bloody Mary at Evelyn's Club Main
105.) Or Dewey's Restaurant and Sports Bar
106.) Or Pepi's Pub and Grill
107.) Or anywhere with a bar because they are all amazing.
108.) Vegan and gluten free goodies at A Little R&R Cafe
109.) Our community gardens
110.) Sitting in the giant lawn chair on Main Street Downtown
Photo Courtesy of The Journal Times
111.) The local band Mean Jake
112.) Saturday night local shows at George's Tavern
113.) The handmade pasta at Salute Italian Restaurant
114.) Summertime Splash Pad at Laurel Clark Memorial Fountain
115.) Sporting your Ask Me Why I Love Racine T-shirt
116.) Lighthouse Gallery & Gifts and their nautical by nature hometown souvenirs
117.) Open House Racine County
118.) Starving Artist Fair
119.) Chalk art competitions at Monument Square Art Festival
121.) Ice Sculpture Carving
122.) Volleyball tournaments on the beach
123.) Waterford's Balloonfest
124.) Guinness Beer Battered Cheese Curds at Ivanhoe Pub and Eatery
125.) The Quiche of the Day at The Coffee House at Chestnut and Pine
126.) Buying up all the handmade bars from local artisan Perennial Soaps
127.) Dining at the hibachi grill at Shogun Japanese Steakhouse
128.) Sorting through stacks of wax at Time & Again Records
129.) The giant burgers at Chubbies Pizzeria and Sandwich Shop
130.) Fred's "World's Best Burgers" in Burlington
131.) Celebrating the 300 Games with ceiling tiles at Castle Lanes
Photo Courtesy of What's Up Racine
132.) Frozen custard on a hot summers day from Adrian's
133.) The healthy collection of goods at Molbeck's Spice Shop
134.) Haunted History Tours around Halloween
135.) Courtyard weddings at The Dekoven Center
136.) Karaoke at Angry Brothers Pub
137.) Tony Romo's Hometown Pride of Burlington
138.) Getting the chicken curry bowls at Kabab and Grill
139.) The thrilling experience at Skydive Midwest
140.) The Racine Symphony Orchestra
141.) The Red Doors on the St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Main Street
142.) Getting in tune at Schmitt Music
143.) The Mosaics in Uptown and North Beach
144.) The Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln Statue in East Park
145.) Collecting beach glass
146.) The ribs at Oh Dennis!
147.) Playing pool at Outbreak Billiards
148.) Winning a drink at The Hiawatha after a train rolls by
149.) Becoming an amateur olympian at The Racine Curling Club
150.) Armenian Festival
151.) Salmon-a-rama
152.) Getting up close and personal with the giraffes at The Racine Zoo
153.) Watching the Dragon Boat Club practice for competitions
154.) Hosting the World's Largest Prom for high schoolers at Festival Hall
155.) The Kilties Drum and Bugle Corp
156.) The gourmet corn dog menu at Main Hub
157.) Dining in the tree fort at Georgie Porgies
158.) The Banana Bread French Toast at Meli Cafe
159.) Kiwanis Pancake Day at Festival Hall
160.) The Fire Station Museum
161.) Mardi Crawl
162.) Christmas time at the Lochnaiar Inn
163.) Having a meal made from scratch at Out of the Pan
164.) Finding the boutique deals at Lornacopia
165.) Dan Jam
166.) Building sandcastles on the beach
167.) The Racine Raiders Football Team
168.) Buying a bouquet from Millers Flowers
169.) Kankakee Bowling at Rhino Bar
170.) Grassroots night by Family Power Music
171.) Glass Blowing Workshops at Hot Shop Glass
172.) The Bibimbap from Asiana
173.) Meeting friends at Mocha Lisa
174.) Ribeye at Sebastian's
175.) Belle City Punch at Third Coast Pizza
176.) The Reggae-styled bar at Brass Monkey
177.) Watching a performance at the Malt House Theatre in Burlington
178.) A whole festival dedicated to cabbage condiments (Kraut Music Fest) in Franksville
179.) The free piece of fruit for kids at Malicki's Piggly Wiggly
180.) Hometown favorite to-go dessert Yogi's Pud'n
181.) Working in your shared office space at the 410 Building
182.) Ordering Horlick High School Chorale's Singing Valentines
183.) Free coffee for parents at Nest Playspace
Photo Courtesy of Nest Playspace
184.) The fact that Racine is home to the hair dryer patent
185.) and the blender
186.) and malted milk
187.) and the food waste disposal
188.) and yes, even the automobile
189.) The fact that Racine at one time was known as "Invention City"
190.) The Lighthouse Run
191.) Malty the Mummy at The Racine Heritage Museum
Photo Courtesy of The Racine Heritage Museum
192.) Bingo Night at Roma Lodge
193.) AAUW's Used Book Sale
194.) Being part of a W.A.V.E. Team for Visioning a Greater Racine
195.) The Racine Zoo filling in a groundhog's spot on Groundhog's Day with a skunk for tradition's sake.
196.) Taking your fur babies through the Johnson Park Dog Run
197.) Historic Architecture
198.) The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Thomas Hardy House
199.) Picking out your Christmas Tree at Borzynski's
200.) The Kids Cove at North Beach
Photo Courtesy of The Journal Times
201.) Hiking through River Bend Nature Center
202.) Water sports on Lake Michigan
203.) The fishing tents on the coast of the Marina
204.) The Tasting Room at Aeppeltreow Winery and Distillery
205.) Quilts on Barns
206.) Breakfast on the Farm
207.) (New for 2018) Saturday Morning Bend and Brew
208.) German Fest
209.) Smoothies at The Grind
210.) The Spectrum School and Gallery
211.) The Art Space Gallery and Events
212.) Prime Rib at The Corner House
213.) Gems at Plumb Gold
214.) The Campfire Scented Candle from local artisan Hawk + Hatchett
215.) Picking out your camping gear at Johnson Outdoors
Photo Courtesy Johnson Outdoors
216.) Lunch at Red Onion Cafe
217.) Attempting to do the Cha-Cha-Slide on wheels at Star Roller Rink (but the locals know it as Skatetown)
218.) Winning lie of the year for the Burlington Liar's Club
219.) Taking a tumble (the good kind) at the Racine Gymnastics Center
220.) Buying produce and assorted oddities at 7 Mile Fair
221.) Sturtevant's 3rd of July Fireworks in Fireman's Park
222.) St. Rita's Festival
223.) Free craft days at the Racine Art Museum
224.) Taking a Splash and Dash New Years Day in Lake Michigan
225.) The Annual PEEP Show Art Competition
226.) Art in the Yard at Mocha Lisa during the summer
227.) Motorcycle season on rustic roads West of I-94
228.) Dining out during Restaurant Week Downtown Racine
229.) Picking up Paczkis for the office on Fat Tuesday from local bakerys
230.) The Chicken n' Waffle Sandwich from Q's Stomach Fuel Food Truck
231.) Cardboard Boat Races at Harbor Lite Yacht Club
232.) Getting street tacos from the Taqueria Arandas truck in Elmwood Plaza
233.) That signature chocolate smell when you drive into Burlington
234.) The Up-and-Coming Racine Brewing Company
235.) Breakdancing for all ages at Origins of Hip Hop in the summer
Photo Courtesy of Rene Amado Photography
236.) Finding your zen at YogaRootsRacine
237.) Swimming at the Mount Pleasant YMCA
238.) The history of Little Golden Books that originated here
239.) Finding a higher level of exercise with hammock classes at Spiral Space Yoga Gallery
240.) The Racine Souvenir Table at Seebecks
241.) 92.1 The Shore
242.) Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding at Café 213
243.) Getting pampered at Nailed It!
244.) The Organ Bar in The Covenant at Murray Mansion
245.) The first snowfall on the lakefront
246.) Vintage jerseys at Only The Ill Survive
247.) Adopting a new furry friend from the Wisconsin Humane Society
248.) Picking up your Holiday Wreaths at Klema Feeds
249.) The people who go crazy for the We Energies Cookie Book
250.) Picnics on the hill at North Beach
251.) The variety of Elvis impersonators at events
252.) Burlington’s Ice Festival
253.) Peasant’s Lunch at Charcoal Grill
254.) The local goods at Red Moon
255.) The smile on the back of the garage at the sledding hill at Lockwood Park
256.) Open Bead Night at Funky Hannah’s
257.) Taking your pup to Club Aqua Paws for a swim
258.) The Fox River Water Trail
259.) The Tommy Gun used by John Dillinger on display at the Racine Police Department
260.) Baked goods at Country Rose Bakery & Cafe
261.) When the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train comes into the Sturtevant Depot
262.) Everyone who loves Racine County as much as we do.
