I’m pulling a page from Zodica Perfumery’s book, but we are sort of smack in the middle of Taurus Season. It ends on May 20. Taurus is considered a grounded Zodiac sign that is part of the stabilizing fixed quality. I’m told it’s about taking a moment. How nice does that sound? We’ve been planning for many moments as of late and event starting to take them.

For the record, I am only somewhat familiar with Taurus because I know that’s my sign, but even if you are not up on them, any time a season changes, there is a feeling of new opportunities, and changes seem less daunting and more optimistic. The frenzy of our planning is starting to pay off, and, after 14-plus months of COVID-19, the change we’re working on is more than a bit about bringing back what we had taken for granted, which is all a breath of fresh air. As is the case with these first few things, that is literally true. Our outdoor farmers market started May 1. Sponsored by Monroe Clinic (a member of SSM Health), it runs Wednesday (12 to 3 p.m.) and Saturday (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) now through October. Stores are open until at least 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month as part of our First Thursday Shopping Night; May’s served as a sneak peek of this year’s summer theme: our tenth. June’s First Thursday is our annual wine walk sponsored by Hawk’s Mill. Tickets, reduced quantity from previous years, are available on our website, as are complete details.

It took a pandemic to realize this, but much of what has been our normal is lending itself to the times. If outside is the new inside, our customary is the new exceptional. House to Home Designs (on the south side of the square) recently received the Wisconsin Main Street award for Best Window Display. With hundreds of businesses across the state, to say it’s a big deal is an understatement. What they do so well is they continuously take their outside area and connect it with the inside.  And that is what we are working on doing, as we almost always do, too.

So, as you look to spend more time outside and blend the spaces and take advantage of spring and summer, I hope you will all appreciate that is exactly what we’re doing downtown. Our outdoor Cars on the Square, sponsored by Bartel’s & Co Tap, will be Friday, June 4th. And we are weeks ahead of our normal schedule, but our 10th annual summer theme, Mainopoly, should have all of the pieces out by next weekend. Thanks to 30 sponsors, our volunteer committee, and our dozens of retailers throughout the district, you will find that the fixed pieces we’ve installed for this summer are blending more with the inside (of stores) than ever before. We will continue to announce tie-ins and activities throughout the summer, but outside being the new inside will help create as many moments for you, your friends, and family as you want.

With the chaos of last season (Aries and all the rest!), we have channeled months of planning to bring what we hope is a unique blend of pop culture, creativity, individual stores, precautions, and family fun back downtown. Everyone has a different definition of “normal” and we will always respect that, but our hope is that our fixed qualities, actual and otherwise, help with the changing of the seasons and having outside be the new inside to create many moments for you.

—  Jordan Nordby is the executive director for Main Street Monroe. He can be reached at MonroeMainStreet@tds.net. complete details on Main Street Monroe and its efforts can be found at mainstreetmonroe.org.