Milwaukee’s summer festivals
Wisconsin
Call it the festival capital of the Midwest; Milwaukee is home to a cadre of festivals each summer that are the largest of their kind in the country. Many of the festivals, such as German Fest, celebrate the city’s ethnic heritage.
“Milwaukee knows how to do German right,” said Jeannine Sherman, director of public relations for Visit Milwaukee. “You walk onto the grounds, and you feel like you’ve taken a trip to Germany. You have German polka bands and dance groups, and there’s an orchestra doing Viennese waltzes. They have cultural heritage tents and merchandise with vendors straight from Germany.”
Given Milwaukee’s German heritage, it’s no surprise that the city boasts the country’s largest German festival. But the same festival grounds also host Polish Fest, Festa Italiana, Bastille Days and the Indian Summer, each the largest event in the country honoring its specific ethnic culture. One event, Irish Fest, is the world’s largest Irish cultural festival, attracting performers and aficionados from Ireland and around the globe.
As if the ethnic festivals didn’t bring enough bragging rights, Milwaukee residents also put on Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival.
“It has 10 ground stages, and a 23,000-seat amphitheater that faces Lake Michigan,” Sherman said. “You’re going to hear all kinds of different music throughout the 11-day run.”
North Iowa Band Festival
Mason City, Iowa
One of the American Bus Association’s Top 100 Events for 2011, the North Iowa Band Festival is the biggest thing to happen each year in Mason City, Iowa. The festival began in 1928 with six area high school bands, and has grown to include hundreds of performance groups and other entertainment and activities each year.
Much of the festival’s fame can be attributed to Meredith Willson, a Mason City local who wrote the Broadway and film classic “The Music Man.” Willson made regular appearances at the festival — along with 76 trombones — and was known to lead the grand parade from time to time.
Today, the North Iowa Band Festival takes place over the five days leading up to Memorial Day.
In addition to a large parade and performances by numerous high school bands, the festival features a classic car show, a carnival and appearances by national touring musicians and the United States Marine Corps Band.
Wamego Tulip Festival
Kansas
Wamego, Kansas, doesn’t have much of a Dutch population. But a decorative Dutch windmill in a city park led to the creation of the Wamego Tulip Festival 24 years ago.
“They decided to plant tulips all over the park in front of the mill, and that was the basis for having a festival in April around the time of the tulips,” said Mary Lyn Barnett, executive director of the Wamego Chamber of Commerce. “It has evolved in the last 24 years to be a family entertainment and craft show.”
Some 20,000 people visit the 12-acre downtown park and surrounding area each year during the festival, where they enjoy free musical entertainment, a petting zoo, cowboy poetry and other festival staples. Sixteen food vendors are on hand selling buffalo and elk burgers, minidonuts, cinnamon roasted nuts, turkey legs and fried Twinkies.
But the biggest draw to the festival is the craft scene. About 150 vendors come with handmade objects of many kinds.
“This year, jewelry was one of our biggest draws,” Barnett said. “We have lots of people that make their own salsa, dips, candles and soap. We have some stained-glass artists and lots of different woodworkers. It’s all the way from the basics to the high end.”
The 2012 Wamego Tulip Festival will take place April 14-15.
