*Thursday, Nov. 15, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s Creativity Series will kick off with a discussion open to the public featuring Mark Rios of Rios Clementi Hale Studios in Los Angeles along with MIAD faculty. The series will regularly bring creative professionals like Rios to MIAD’s campus to enhance the education of MIAD students and open the community to new ways of appreciating the arts. The free event will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on MIAD’s fourth floor at 273 E. Erie St. in Milwaukee. For more information, visit www.miad.edu/creativityseries.
*Thursday, Nov. 15, the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival Kick-Off Extravaganza will start the holiday season in Milwaukee with a 5:45 p.m. preshow and the official lighting of downtown at 6 p.m. at Pere Marquette Park, 900 N. Plankinton Ave. Santa Claus will make an appearance and will guide a countdown to the lighting. The celebration, free to the public, will also include a fireworks show and free Jingle Bus rides through Milwaukee to show participants the holiday sights. The festival runs through Dec. 31. For more information, visit www.milwaukeeholidaylights.com.
*Friday, Nov. 16, MRA – The Management Association will host a business seminar, “2020 Vision: A Post-Election Business Look Into the Future,” at MRA headquarters in the conference center, N19W24400 Riverwood Dr. in Waukesha. The presentation, scheduled to run 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. with a question and answer session following, will feature economist Alan Beaulieu, president of the Institute for Trends Research. He will discuss the economic outlook both globally and domestically. Cost is $125 for MRA members and $150 for nonmembers. For more information or to register, call Jill at 262-696-3319 or e-mail registrations@mranet.org.
*Friday, Nov. 16, the City of Glendale and Bayshore Town Center will host and present the 7th annual tree lighting ceremony in Bayshore’s Town Square, 5800 N. Bayshore Dr., Suite A256 in Glendale. The tree lighting will be held at 6 p.m., and the free event will also include a performance by the Florentine Opera, a performance by the Milwaukee Ballet, horse-drawn carriage rides from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., samples from area restaurants and businesses, and a visit from Santa Claus. For more information, visit http://www.bayshoretowncenter.com/.
*Friday, Nov. 16, MAM After Dark will be held at the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr. in Milwaukee, from 5 p.m. to midnight. Presented by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, the event will feature the theme “Girls Night Out” with music from DJ Dori Zori and the lounge band Five Card Studs, beauty treatments from the Aveda Institute of Beauty and Wellness, access to the museum’s exhibits and more. Admission is free for museum members, free for guests who join at the door and a friend, $13 at the door for nonmembers, and $8 in advance. For more information or to purchase advance tickets online, visit www.mam.org/afterdark.
*Tuesday, Nov. 27, the Waukesha County Business Alliance will host its Technology Tuesdays series focused on “Social Media Made Simple & Cloud Computing.” The information session will teach participants which social media tools to use, how to build relationships through the use of social media, how cloud computing can impact a business and more. The session is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Microsoft Corporation, N19 W24113 Riverwood Dr., Suite 150 in Waukesha. Cost is $15 per person per session. For more information or to register, visit www.waukesha.org.
