Free Swim Sundays is Cactus Plus’s weekend series of daytime programming featuring workshops, skillshares, artist markets, and weekly DJs.
Free Swim Sundays – Workshop Proposals Form
Free Swim Sundays – Artist Vendor Form
From mushroom growing to cultivating community through cycling to upcycled handwoven baskets, plant care and electronics repair, stop-motion animation and astrological birth chart exploration — the first Free Swim season in 2023 connected a diverse range of ideas, talents, and crafts, encouraging us to support community strength through community knowledge, little by little. Always a joy to witness the Cactus Club live room transforming with every workshop!
The heart of Free Swim is the workshop programming, which amounted to 8 events between June and October 2023:
- Transplanting House Plants Workshop by Dulce Duran of Chelotzin
- Grotto Phonecase Workshop by Rebecca Kacanda of Rotto Grotto
- Stop Motion Animation Workshop by animator Cole Kirkendall
- How to Run a Film Screening by filmmaker M.O. Guzman
- Intro to DIY Electronics Repair and Maintenance Workshop by musician and recording engineer Kevin Dixon
- Artisan Soapmaking Workshop by Alquimia Holistica
- How to Grow Mushrooms Using Recycled Materials by artist Kate Klingbeil
- Embodying your Birth Chart Workshop by Other Dust Technoapothecary
In 2024, with the Wavy Lines series taking center stage for workshop programming, Free Swim focused on monthly artist markets, continuing to uplift both established vendors and emerging artists, makers, and curators.
Music is central to daily life at Cactus Club and Free Swim Sundays always feature curated tunes by Milwaukee music-lovers spinning vinyl, CD, or digital tunes. For Free Swim, DJs represent the common thread connecting the expansive vision of Cactus Plus with the foundation of connection around music. Seasoned DJs or first-timers are equally welcome!
. 
With Free Swim we see a more expansive vision of the future for Cactus Club as a hub of creativity, community, and growth. Free Swim welcomes folks to show up with their curiosity and creativity to learn new skills or update old ones, or simply mingle and hang out surrounded by Milwaukee’s community of talented artists, makers, and music-lovers.