Waukesha Unlocked to Open 50+ Factory Doors for City's 130th Anniversary; October Event Expected to Draw 2,000+

WAUKESHA — The city will mark its 130th anniversary October 10-11 with Waukesha Unlocked, a two-day open house granting public access to more than 50 factories, manufacturing facilities, and historic buildings that are normally closed to anyone without a badge, a delivery manifest, or a very good excuse.

Organizers with the Waukesha County Chamber Alliance project attendance of 2,000 to 3,000 people across the weekend, a figure event coordinator Renata Alvarez said was revised upward twice in the past month as more businesses signed on. "We opened registration expecting maybe 20 sites," Alvarez said. "We are now turning away buildings. We had to tell a candlemaking studio it could participate but its overflow parking lot could not, because the overflow lot is itself another business that wanted to participate separately."

Confirmed participants include Generac Power Systems, three local candlemaking studios, and multiple Culver's operations, though Alvarez clarified that the Culver's stops are "working kitchen tours, not tasting events," a distinction she said the event FAQ now addresses directly after 140 email inquiries asked otherwise.

Parking Downgraded to "Severely Limited"

Downtown parking, already a fraught subject given the neighborhood's block-by-block one-way grid, has been officially designated "severely limited" for the weekend, according to a city memo circulated to participating businesses September 15. Shuttle service will run continuously from the Waukesha County Fairgrounds starting at 8 a.m. both days, with a stated goal of a bus every 12 minutes.

City Engineer Todd Rasmussen said the shuttle route was designed to avoid downtown's most disorienting turns entirely, a decision he described as "not optional." "We are not sending a 30-foot vehicle full of tourists through the Broadway-St. Paul flip," Rasmussen said. "That is a decision the city made once, on paper, in a planning meeting, and everyone in the room agreed immediately and without discussion."

"We had to tell a candlemaking studio it could participate but its overflow parking lot could not, because the overflow lot is itself another business that wanted to participate separately."

— Renata Alvarez, event coordinator

The Nedventuresout Marathon

Among the weekend's more ambitious undertakings is a plan by Ned England, the 70-year-old Backslide Way resident behind the YouTube channel Nedventuresout, to document all 50-plus locations across the two days for what he is calling his longest single-day field report to date. Ned, whose channel typically covers hospital traffic and a neighbor's Honda parked too close to his driveway, said he has been preparing since early September.

"I have a route," Ned said. "I have a backup route in case the primary route has a train on it, because it will, at some point, have a train on it. I've built in 30 minutes for that specifically." Ned said he does not plan to use the shuttle, citing a need to control his own filming schedule, and will instead drive his own vehicle between sites, parking where the severely limited parking allows.

Ned's son Trevor, who lives at home and is occasionally recruited for brief on-camera appearances, said he has been asked to hold a second camera at the Generac stop specifically, "because Dad wants two angles on the generators." Ned's other son Cody, who lives on Waukesha's south side, said he plans to meet his father at one of the candlemaking studios "for maybe twenty minutes, tops."

"Overwhelming" Business Participation

Alvarez said the chamber's original outreach email, sent to 90 local businesses in July, generated enough interest that organizers had to build a waitlist by late August. "We got a response from a business we did not email," Alvarez said. "They heard about it from a business we did email. That is not normally how registration works, but we adjusted the form."

Participating sites will be marked with a printed door placard and a QR code linking to a short history of the building, a feature Alvarez said was added after several site hosts admitted they did not know their own building's construction date. Three sites, she said, are still confirming that information with the Waukesha County Historical Society ahead of the printing deadline.

What's Next

Registration for individual site tours remains open through October 3, though Alvarez said several factory floor slots, including two Generac time blocks, are already full. The chamber plans a debrief meeting the following week to decide whether Waukesha Unlocked becomes an annual event or stays tied to milestone anniversaries.

Ned England said he intends to have his footage edited and posted within 48 hours of the event's close, a turnaround he acknowledged would be his fastest ever. "Nedventuresout has never done back-to-back days like this," he said. "But I've been counting lampposts for practice runs since Labor Day, so I feel ready."