MidwestWeekends.com — Your Travel Guide to the Upper Midwest

Events for "Milwaukee, WI"

January

  • Cool Kite Festival (Jan. 1)

    Milwaukee, WI

    In addition to kite-flying, there will be ice sculptures and free hot chocolate, coffee and snacks in the lakefront Veterans Park.


  • A Toast to Winter: Ice Bars (Jan. 24)

    Milwaukee, WI

    Enoy a cocktail for charity in the Historic Third Ward at three hand-carved ice bars, one with a Bloody Mary luge, one with an ice wall and one with a beer-serving cow. 


March

  • St. Patrick's Day parade (Mar. 10)

    Milwaukee, WI

    The big parade starts at noon, starting at Third and Wisconsin downtown and followed by music, dancing and pipes and drums at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center.


  • Egg Day (Mar. 31)

    Milwaukee, WI

    There will be crafts, face-painting, bubble art and treats at the Hop-to-it Bunny Hunt, plus a parade at the Milwaukee County Zoo.


June

  • Ride for the Arts (Jun 3)

    Milwaukee, WI

    This bicycle ride along the Lake Michigan lakefront includes routes of 5, 12, 25, 40 and 66 miles. The longest route goes as far north as Port Washington.

    The rides start and end at the Summerfest grounds, and there's a party afterward.


  • Polish Fest (Jun 15 – 17)

    Milwaukee, WI

    This big festival on the lakefront features lots of hearty food, a piano contest, storytelling, vodka-tasting, folk arts and polka dancing.


  • Summerfest (Jun 27 – Jul 1)

    Milwaukee, WI

    They call this the world's largest music festival. More than 800 acts perform on 11 stages along Lake Michigan.


July

  • Summerfest (Jul 3 – 8)

    Milwaukee, WI

    They call this the world's largest music festival. More than 800 acts perform on 11 stages along Lake Michigan.


  • Bastille Days (Jul 12 – 15)

    Milwaukee, WI

    Look for minstrels, cancan dancers, French lessons, a Mardi Gras parade and a 43-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower in Cathedral Square Park.


  • Festa Italiana (Jul 20 – 22)

    Milwaukee, WI

    At the lakefront Henry Maier Festival Park, there's cannoli-eating and pizza-making contests, celebrity chefs, a bocce ball tournament, parades at 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, nightly fireworks and music and dance on five stages and an opera tent.


  • Air and Water Show (Jul 21 – 22)

    Milwaukee, WI

    This show, between Bradford and McKinley beaches on the lakefront, features many aerobatics and features the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.


  • German Fest (Jul 27 – 29)

    Milwaukee, WI

    Look for dachshunds, dirndls and lots of oompah music at this big party at Henry Maier Festival Park on Lake Michigan.


August

  • Irish Fest (Aug. 16 – 19)

    Milwaukee, WI

    The nation's largest Irish festival features 100 acts on 16 stages, plus children's activities, red hair and freckle contests and demonstrations by Irish dog breeds. In Henry Maier Festival Park.


  • Mexican Fiesta (Aug. 24 – 26)

    Milwaukee, WI

    Enjoy the best of Mexican culture at the Henry Maier Festival Park: mariachi, arts and crafts, spicy foods and contests: dance, costume, jalapeno-eating and el grito, or shouting.


September

  • Indian Summer Festival (Sep. 7 – 9)

    Milwaukee, WI

    This lakefront festival features a powwow, canoe rides, cooking demonstrataions, Aztec dancers and lacrosse lessons.


  • Bay View Bash (Sep. 15)

    Milwaukee, WI

    This street festival in the Bay View neighborhood includes music on four stages, a children's area, cooking demonstrations and a strong man competition.


  • Doors Open Milwaukee (Sep. 22 – 23)

    Milwaukee, WI

    More than 150 historic buildings — theaters, breweries, mansions, cathedrals, hotels, museums — are open to the public, and many offer free guided tours.

    More than three dozen in-depth walking tours also are offered but sell out quickly. Check in July for the program.


October

  • Milwaukee Oktoberfest (Oct. 5 – 7)

    Milwaukee, WI

    There will be dachshund racing, stein-hoisting and brat-eating competitions as well as music and dancing in the plaza outside the Fiserv Forum arena, a new location.


November

  • Veterans Day Parade (Nov. 10)

    Milwaukee, WI

    It's at 11 a.m., starting in Pere Marquette Park and following Kilbourn Avenue toward the lakefront.


  • Holiday Lights Festival (Nov. 15)

    Milwaukee, WI

    The season-long lights festival begins with music, tree-lighting and hot chocolate in Red Arrow Park, then moves across the river to Pere Marquette Park for a family fashion show, variety show, fireworks and free tours on the Jingle Bus.


  • Christkindlmarket Milwaukee (Nov. 17 – Dec 24)

    Milwaukee, WI

    The Chicago Christkindlmarket expands with this open-air, German-style market in the plaza outside Fiserve Forum arena.


  • Christmas in the Ward (Nov. 30)

    Milwaukee, WI

    Festivities in the rejuvenated Third Ward near downtown start with tree lighting and a performance by Trinity Irish Dancers, followed by  fireworks, carriage rides, carolers, and a cookie sale.


December

  • Christkindlmarket Milwaukee (Dec. 26 – 31)

    Milwaukee, WI

    The Chicago Christkindlmarket expands with this open-air, German-style market in the plaza outside Fiserve Forum arena.