Summerfest

I’ve lived in Milwaukee for more than a decade now. Much longer than I ever thought I would, and often much longer than I wanted to, but there are lots of positives here too.

The Calatrava-designed pavilion of the Milwaukee Art Museum on the lakefront near downtown

Winters are long, and often cold, but there are many great things about being here. Visitors often leave pleasantly surprised by their time here, especially if it’s the the warmer months. Even in the winter, its still fine most days, just put on a jacket if needed.

Since there is a narrow window of time to actually enjoy outdoor activities in Wisconsin, the summer months tend to be filled with a variety of outdoor activities. Milwaukee is known for many festivals. There are ethnic festivals, and nearly every neighborhood and many churches have their own as well.

The biggest of all in the “City of Festivals” is called simply Summerfest. This is claimed to be the world’s largest music festival with nearly a million guests each year. It began small in the late 1960’s, and in more recent years lasts 11 days around the 4th of July on the Milwaukee lakefront. Now the festival has 11 stages and over 1000 performances each year. There is a large ampitheater for the most popular acts, but the 10 other stages are of various sizes to allow for local and regional acts, along with national bands headlining each stage at night.

Up close to a performance by Cake

I travel frequently, but this is the one time of the year where I do my best to stay home. And I strive to see as many shows as I can. I’m not going to be traveling much during the festival this year, so I’m sure I’ll be a frequent visitor yet again.