Milwaukee Relocation and Moving Information

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Festivals & Parades

Photo courtesy of Trinity Irish Dancers

During the summer, there are festivals throughout Milwaukee. Among the major area events are the Wisconsin State Fair and Summerfest, which together draw more than 1.7 million people every year.

Summerfest is considered one of the best music festivals in the country. It is held every year at the 90-acre Henry W. Maier Festival Park, which is located on the Milwaukee lakefront. It features more than 11 permanent stages and a continual lineup of jazz, rock, zydeco, blues, big band and "golden oldies" music. The 24,000-seat Marcus Amphitheater draws big-name talent, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tim McGraw, Tom Petty, The Pretenders, Aretha Franklin, Pearl Jam, Jimmy Buffet, Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, John Mellencamp, Alanis Morisette and Milwaukee's own Bo Deans. Children are also welcome at Summerfest. There is a playground, and several children's stages feature magic shows and other entertainment intended specifically for young people.

The festival park also is used to stage the many events organized by local ethnic groups, including Festa Italiana, German Fest, Irish Fest, Mexican Fiesta, African World Festival, Indian Summer, Polish Fest and Arabian Fest.

Festivals, however, aren't confined to the lakefront. In July, Milwaukeeans celebrate the beginning of the French revolution at Bastille Days, a downtown block party that is considered the largest celebration of its kind in the country.

Every year, more than 90,000 people attend the Greek Festival held at State Fair Park. In addition, Catholic parishes hold weekend galas throughout the city, while RiverSplash draws hundreds of people to the Milwaukee River in early June.

Racine's 1,000-slip marina is a focal point of activity throughout the summer. The city's nationally famous fishing contest, Salmon-A-Rama, draws participants from around the country in July.

Summer doesn't have a monopoly on area activities. The annual Holiday Folk Fair, the nation's oldest and largest indoor ethnic festival, is held around Thanksgiving each year. Racine is noted for its lavish Christmas displays and holiday parades. You'll want to check out "Christmas House," which is two turn-of-the-century mansions bathed in more than 200,000 lights. The Festival of Trees at the Racine Civic Centre Festival Hall features more than 70 professionally decorated Christmas trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses.

The Milwaukee area is blessed with a variety of cultural attractions:

The Milwaukee Art Museum is home to more than 25,000 works of art, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Durer, Picasso and Warhol. The museum recently completed a stunning lakefront addition that increases the museum's exhibition space by 25 percent and adds a dramatic glass-and-steel architectural signature to the lakefront.
A tradition of excellence in exhibits, education, collections and research has been the hallmark of the Milwaukee Public Museum since it was established in 1882. Permanent exhibits include multi-level displays of dinosaurs, North American Indians, a tropical rain forest and 19th Century Milwaukee.
Milwaukee's Kho-Thi Dance Company, Theatre X and Present Music have earned international reputations for innovation and excellence.
The Milwaukee area has several museums designed specifically for children and young adults, including the Betty Brinn Children Museum, which has many hands-on exhibits for children ages 1 through 10; and Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin, a science and technology museum designed for young adults.
The Milwaukee County Zoo is one of the top zoological parks in the country. The 200-acre park is known for its open concept, which simulates the animals' natural environments by using moats to separate predators from their prey. Its Aquatic & Reptile Center includes sharks, octopus and alligators, as well as 220 fish from Wisconsin lakes.
Plant enthusiasts will want to explore the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory. Known locally as "The Domes," the facility consists of three 85-foot domes. One contains a desert environment, another houses tropical plants and the third features changing displays.

The Milwaukee Center Theater District is home to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, which operates three venues: the Quadracci Powerhouse, Steimke Theater and the Stackner Cabaret. The district also includes the Pabst Theater, a national historic landmark that provides musical and theatrical entertainment in an elegant setting. The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts offers several venues for performing artists, including the 2,300-seat Uihlein Hall. Large shows are held at the Bradley Center or the outdoor Marcus Amphitheater, which is located at the Henry W. Maier Festival Park.

The Broadway Theatre Center is the home of the Skylight Opera, the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Theatre X.

Those who want to test their luck - or their bingo skills - will want to head toward Potawatomi Bingo Casino, which features "Vegas-style" gaming just west of Milwaukee's downtown. It also offers an intimate club-style music venue that attracts nationally known artists.

The metropolitan area offers a variety of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Sparkling lakes, quiet woodland areas and prairie vistas can be found throughout Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. Even Milwaukee County, which is the most populous county in the state, has approximately 15,000 acres of parkland. There are 134 tennis courts, 20 swimming pools and 17 public golf courses, including the county's Brown Deer Park course, which has been ranked as one of the five best public courses in the nation by Golf Digest magazine. It is also the home of the U.S. Bank Championship , which attracts more than 90,000 spectators and some of the best talent on the PGA circuit.

Boating and fishing are also major activities, both on Lake Michigan and on many of the beautiful inland lakes in the area. Charter boat captains are always eager to take people out into the "local ocean" to land perch, steelhead, coho or chinook salmon, or to get a mermaid's perspective of the Wisconsin shoreline.

Sailing is also very popular. The South Shore Yacht Club's annual Queen's Cup Race attracts more than 240 yachts per year for the Wisconsin-to-Michigan race. Sailboats, jet skis and windsurfing equipment can be rented at the McKinley Park Marina, and the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center has a fleet of boats that it makes available to qualified members.

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