Considered ‘the official kick-off to summer’, Brat Fest Memorial Day weekend at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison Wisconsin features live music, events for all ages and free parking all weekend compliments of Smart Motors. Memorial Day Weekend Festivities It all starts on Friday, May 26th with the time honored Wisconsite tradition of “ Take Your Brat to Work Day”! In-person pick up from 6am to 9am at Willow Island, and you should pre-order pick up for 100 brats or more. However, if you’d prefer you can order Brat Delivery from 9am to 12pm for orders of 60 brats or more. Live Music Friday, Saturday & Sunday Slaughter - Saturday Night | 8pm Three different stages with live music starting each day at 11am, you are sure to find some great, local bands to jam to. Friday night headliner on the Baker Tilly main stage at 7pm will showcase Steve Adler of Guns N’ Roses, and at 8pm on the Everlight Solar Grand Stage catch Frankie Ballard. Saturday night’s line-up features local favorite Madison County at 7pm on the Main Stage, and at 8pm hit it hard with classic rock national touring band Slaughter! Check out the entire weekend music line up here. Madison Wisconsin Weekend Events In addition to live music, Brat Fest weekend will include activities for all ages in the Kids Zone, Sports Zone and Farm Zone. Check out the Budweiser Clydesdales, Mr. Ed’s Magical Midway Carnival or bring your pup and have some fun in the Doggie Day Care zone. Parking, Accessibility & Shuttle Busses The Alliant Energy Center has over 5,800 paved and lit parking spots available onsite. From traditional vehicle parking to motorcycle, bicycle and accessibility parking (appropriate plates or permits required) all parking for the weekend will be free of charge compliments of Smart Motors. New for 2023, Brat Fest has a Trolley Shuttle to pick up guests to transport guests to the Brat Fest Entrance and the trolley is ADA accessible for wheel chair users. For more information about Brat Fest, events taking place that weekend, live music schedules and more, please visit the official Brat Fest site.
Smart Toyota Pink for Breast Cancer Smart Motors Toyota in Madison has observed Breast Cancer Awareness Month in a bold and eye-catching manner every year since 2010. Anyone looking at the night sky near Odana Road has witnessed a brilliant display in the form of a powerful rose-tinted glow. That's because Smart sponsors a vivid pink light show in respectful observation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This eye-popping exhibit is their way of connecting with the community in a symbolic, entertaining and meaningful fashion for an exceedingly important cause. As most people know, the color pink – especially pink ribbons – has become synonymous with breast cancer. But are you aware of the history behind this iconic symbol? To set the stage, one has to go back to 1979 and the “Iran Hostage Crisis.” This is when the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was overtaken by supporters of the Iranian revolution. The Iranians – who were primarily college students – held 52 United States Diplomats hostage for 444 days. Inspired by a Ribbon Inspired by a 1973 number-one song, the wife of one of the hostages decided to literally “ Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” to make people aware of the touch and go situation her husband and 51 others were in. Suddenly yellow ribbons were tied around every kind of tree as her campaign took off throughout America. The second such statement was during the AIDS crises. Activists opted for the color red, and looped the ribbon so it could be worn as a pin. The red ribbon pin was created to raise consciousness of the disease and also to represent those affected by it. The symbol went viral after it made its national television debut as presenters and nominees donned them at the 1990 Tony Awards. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® has used the color pink in their logo since the non-profit’s inception in 1982. But it wasn’t until 1991 that the breast cancer awareness and fundraising organization began distributing pink ribbons to all breast cancer survivors and participants of the Komen New York City Race for the Cure®. Then in 1992, Alexandra Penney, editor-in-chief of Self magazine, wanted to put the magazine’s second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue over the top. She did this by creating a ribbon and enlisting the cosmetics giants to distribute them in New York City stores. And thus, the birth of the pink ribbon! Pink Lights Bring Awareness “With our pink light display, we are fortunate enough to have a real opportunity to increase awareness,” says Robert Jordan, Assistant General Manager at Smart Toyota. “We know that members of our staff and so many of our guests who use our services have been, in some way, touched by breast cancer. We want to be part of the cure.” Assistant General Manager, Robert Jordan According to Komen.com, In 2022, it’s estimated among women in the U.S. there will be: • 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer (This includes new cases of primary breast cancer, but not breast cancer recurrences.) • 51,400 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive breast cancer • 43,250 breast cancer deaths Mid-West Largest Display The pink lights display at Smart Motors is believed to be the largest of its kind for an auto dealership in the Midwest. It generally takes three days to install the pink gels in their 149 exterior lights. They will have a total of 85 pink lights at the Toyota showroom and service facility location (5901 Odana Road), and there will be 64 additional lights shining pink at their new preowned facility across the street at 5710 Odana Road. It's a first-place display for one of Wisconsin's largest volume Toyota dealers, and the Midwest's largest hybrid dealership. The pink aura will light up the west side throughout the month of October. Smart Toyota's Pink Lights Smart Motors was founded in 1908 by O.D. Smart and is one of the nation’s oldest automotive dealerships, is the mid-west’s largest hybrid dealer and one of Wisconsin’s largest volume Toyota dealers. Located at 5901 Odana Road, Smart Motors is Wisconsin’s only two-time President’s Cabinet Award recipient from Toyota Motor Sales for superior customer service & sales volume. Dealership's history.
Green Light a Vet | Smart Motors | Madison WI Local Support. National Exposure. Have you ever noticed when you drive by Smart Motors, whether it is on the beltline or Odana Road, some of their powerful lamp posts project a green hue? And if you have noticed, ever wondered why? For 11 months out of the year, since 2015, Smart Motors has been a proud advocate of the “ Green Light A Vet” campaign. Only in October do their three perpetually glowing green lights turn pink in support of “Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” “I believe nationally the campaign was started in 2015,” says Smart Motors’ Assistant General Manager, Robert Jordan.” And even though we’ve been supporting it for the past seven years, I’m not really sure people know what exactly the lights mean.” What Does it Mean? According to campaign organizers, “’Greenlight A Vet’ is a campaign to establish visible national support for our veterans by changing one light to green. Green is the color of hope, renewal and well-being. ‘Greenlight’ is also a term commonly used to activate forward movement. The simple action of changing one light to green is intended to spark a national conversation regarding the recognition of veterans, and ‘greenlight’ them forward as valued members of our communities." “We think the ‘Greenlight a Vet’ campaign is unique and important,” Jordan says. “U.S. military veterans are brave, hard-working men and women who have sacrificed a lot for our nation, but when they are out of uniform they become somewhat camouflaged. By keeping a green light burning, they know their valor is being recognized and honored; not just on Veterans Day.” Local Locations For those who are curious to see Smart Motors’ three green lights, there is one next to the beltline at their new Toyota Showroom & Service Center (5901 Odana Road), one at Smart Motors Used Cars (5710 Odana Road), and one at their Prep & Detailing facility (5775 Tokay Blvd). This year, Veterans Day is observed on November 11. But by changing one light to green in a visible location - your porch, in your home, or at your place of work -and keeping it glowing symbolically shows support for our Vets 365-days a year. Social Media Hashtag “We’d love to see other people and companies in the Madison area get involved,” says Jordan. “As part of the campaign, people are asked to share their support by taking a picture of their green light and posting it using the hashtag #greenlightavet. The whole thing takes very little effort, but it speaks volumes.” About Smart Motors Smart Motors was founded in 1908 by O.D. Smart and is one of the nation’s oldest automotive dealerships, is the mid-west’s largest hybrid dealer and one of Wisconsin’s largest volume Toyota dealers. Located at 5901 Odana Road, Smart Motors is Wisconsin’s only two-time President’s Cabinet Award recipient from Toyota Motor Sales for superior customer service & sales volume. For more information, check out Smart's history page.