Downtown Waukesha is rich in history and packed with contemporary flavor. Historic Downtown Waukesha is bursting with architecturally significant buildings, historic treasures and charming brick paved streets and sidewalks - all giving our city's downtown a unique "European" feel for the Carl Zach Cycling Classic.

The second annual Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books was held this weekend at UW-Waukesha. The free event was put on by the UW-Waukesha Foundation in cooperation with community groups, businesses and organizations such as the Waukesha Public Library, Martha Merrell’s Bookstore and the Literary Council of Greater Waukesha. A full story with more photos about the festival will appear on Waukesha Patch Monday morning.

Farmers from across southeastern Wisconsin will bring their fruits, vegetables and other items to downtown Waukesha every Saturday this summer. The market runs from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays through Oct. 29.

Summit View Elementary School is know as the "big blue school" because of its roof, no one was feeling "blue" on this the last day. The Waukesha teachers said their goodbyes and told all the kids to read over the summers. The kids all couldn't wait for that final bell to ring. As is customary every year, all the teachers met the buses in front of the school to wave goodbye for one last time.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver wasn’t catching footballs Saturday afternoon, but he was catching smiles from all his fans gathered at Waukesha Sportscards for a public autograph signing session. Whether it was jokes about a bobble head having nearly the size of Driver’s head or shaking hands with his fans, the Super Bowl XLV champion kept a smile on his face. Driver's autograph signing was popular with Packers' fans in Waukesha. The line wrapped outside the door as people waited to get a glimpse of the reliable receiver. Even a white dog wanted to see Driver – the dog got away …

The sun was still shinning when Freeman Friday Night Live kicked off in downtown Waukesha. Residents came to enjoy the free music, eat at local restaurants and visit with friends during the weekly music event that is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fridays through the end of September.

Dinner and dancing at Waukesha North High School's prom Saturday was held at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee. The theme for prom was A Night on the Nile, and James Blackburn and Amy Wielgus were named prom king and queen.

Cars were the talk of the town Saturday afternoon at Streetworks Hotrods Car enthusiasts young and old fawned over the exceptional vehicles from the past, many of which were restored by the Streetworks team. Streetworks has been restoring classic cars in Waukesha since 1999 and typically has a yearly open house, but this was the first to feature a full car-show. "We do everything here," said Streetworks owner Matt Backhaus. "From mechanicals to just servicing people's cars, all the way to complete restoration jobs ... the whole works. We do everything you can to an old car."

Waukesha West High School students gathered for dinner and dancing at the Milwaukee Marriott West as part of Prom festivities Saturday.

The Waukesha Farmers Market began the 2011 season with large crowds and a record amount of vendors for the kick-off event. Despite dark clouds threatening to rain on the market, the rain stayed away all morning as people strolled through the market, checking out the different vendors. The Waukesha Farmers Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays through the end of October.

A dinner was held to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo at La Casa de Esperanza on Thursday. Community leaders and residents gathered to eat dinner, listen to a presentation about the organization and watch a cultural ballet performance. Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas noted in his opening remarks that the Hispanic population increased in the 2010 U.S. Census. “We have become more diverse,” Vrakas said. “It is important that as we become diverse that all of us remember our culture, pay tribute, pay honor to the special things in our culture in Waukesha County.”

The leg warmers were on and the hair was teased high as community members came out for Retro Night: MTV 80s Edition at Crites Field. The fundraiser held Saturday night benefited the Waukesha County Museum and Historical Society. IN addition to food, drinks, PacMan and Rubik’s Cube, 2nd Wave, an 80s pop cover band, performed during the event.

Children exhibited their one-of-a-kind Lego creations Thursday afternoon at the Waukesha Public Library. The creative Lego displays ranged in scope from fictional farm settings to small town diners and epic space battles. Each child got a chance to speak about their creation in front of the group and pose for pictures. Afterwards, the group broke up into teams for a timed Lego-building competition.

The smell of popcorn wafted toward those standing in line waiting with bright, colorful umbrellas to avoid the drizzle. Inside the Waukesha County Expo center and away from the rain, children had their faces painted and received pony rides. Vendors selling pink, fluffy cotton candy and bright, glowing wands made their way through the crowds. The Walker Brothers Circus performed twice at the Waukesha County Expo on Tuesday. Then, before they knew it, everyone was seated and Jason Walker, the ringmaster for Walker Brother's Circus was introducing the first act – The Human Volcano. Many of the …

A group of downtown church members and people from SOPHIA – Stewards of Prophetic, Hopeful, Intentional Action – held a neighborhood prayer walk to remember Good Friday. The walk started at St. Luke's Lutheran Church and stopped at six stations where the members paused for reflection and prayer.

In celebration of Earth Day a group of 3- to 6-year-olds hit the trails at Retzer Nature Center for a nature exploration hike Thursday. The kids were given a bag with pictures of things to collect before the hike. The kids kept their eyes open in search of the items, including moss, bark and pine cones, while hiking through the woods. Friday marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

Groomers from across the state competed in the "Extreme Makeover: HAWS" edition to benefit the Humane Animal Welfare Society shelter Sunday afternoon. The 11 adoptable dogs served as models for the competition. Groomers were given two hours to work with their dogs, which were given baths and a nail trim before the show. The event included raffle prizes and a doggie treat bake sale.

The WCT PlayMakers and ACAP Players are currently putting on  a musical-comedy adaptation of William Shakespear's classic A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Waukesha Civic Theater. The fun production runs just under an hour and a half and is showing April 15 through 19. You can catch the play at 2 p.m. Sunday and at 10 a.m. and noon Monday and Tuesday. Tickets are $5 each, or $4 each for a group of 10 or more.

March winds bring April showers. April showers bring May flowers. Well, Waukesha is a little bit ahead of that rhyme. With weekend rain showers and plenty of sunshine the last few days, the flowers in the city are starting to bloom. The bright colors are a reminder that winter is officially over and, hopefully, there will be no more snow this year.

Waukesha Lacrosse played pre-season games at the Curds and Whey Jamboree Saturday at Uihlein Field. Waukesha Patch was there to shoot a photo gallery at the Waukesha-Montini Catholic matchup.