I hit another item on my bucket list this summer in Milwaukee- going to the Dragon Boat Festival…read more We arrived about 11:30 am and parking was really full! It was so much fun to see the teams and the boats on the water. There were some food vendors. Most teams had tents on the grounds. It's a friendly competition and a fun event. Another free and fun festival to enjoy in Milwaukee.

My husband & I stumbled across this festival because we were on our way to another festival…read more It was cool to see the boats racing & cheering them on. There were a lot of stands with food and activities for people to do. I would definitely go to this festival again.

Summer Solstice is defined as "the solstice that marks the onset of summer, at the time of the…read morelongest day, about June 21 in the northern hemisphere". And so marks that time of year when all things Wisconsin are on the up and up. It's time to enjoy the warmer weather and hopefully it's dry out. This 2019 Solstice was a dry one despite the long wind up to summer we've all been waiting for. Eastside Summer Soulstice is a particular great event and this year would prove to be one of the best. Why you say, because there are so many new businesses on this corridor of street corners where all roads East intersect. Hacienda Beer, Crossroads Collective and it's many restaurants inside and so on... Plus, all of some of Wisconsin's finest vendors all on the closed of streets and all in the mix. This event is dog friendly and people watching equipped. The sun was shining and although not hot it was a perfect temp to relax and enjoy all this city has to offer. We sat at Hacienda outside and people watched, listened to the 88.9 stage and ate food with our pooch soaking up the sun. Cheers to Summer Soulstice!

Summer Soulstice Solid. Great local music- so muchso that you can't see everything great happening…read moreat once. It's All Happening (at once)! Three well-spaced stages of great local music is the big ticket hang, here. Besides the great local music there's a good selection of quality Makers showing here, and an okay but not great selection of beer (would like to see more local craft on tap or in cans). I liked that Landmark and Von Trier and other places had bars set up outside. Great local MKE festival.

Dan Jansen Family Fest occurs annually on Memorial Day weekend (Friday night, Saturday, and…read moreSunday). It's the official, unofficial beginning to festival season, I'm told. We drove by on Friday evening and noticed the lights, music, carnival rides, and overall merriment and decided to head back with the kiddo in tow later in the weekend. If you arrive between noon-4pm (Fri-Sat-Sun), you can enjoy their $20 unlimited ride wristband special, which is a pretty sweet deal. We, unfortunately, arrived on Sunday evening, so spent $25 on 30 ride tickets (which was plenty for our family to enjoy as many rides as we really cared to over the course of 2+ hours or so). They have your typical carnival rides (bumper cars, the zipper, etc) as well as typical carnival activities (fun house, house of mirrors) and games (darts, basketball, goldfish). They also have food vendors slinging typical fair-like food (corndogs, hot dogs, funnel cakes, ice cream, donuts). They also offer nightly entertainment. They have a different band playing each night as well as a family movie night on Saturday. The festival offers free entry, which is nice. I mean, obviously, you spend plenty on food and fun but it's nice to not have the extra entry fee on top of it all. The proceeds from the festival (100%) go to fund projects for the City of Greenfield Parks Department (in past years it's funded fountain projects, updated park signage, etc). Awesome perk to have a little fun while at the same time know the money spent is going to support local green spaces! Definitely a fun way to start the summer!

One of the best festivals I've ever been to. I go to this festival every year and I've been going…read moresince the 2016 spring season. The prices can be pretty expensive but it is totally worth it with what you get out of it. You can bring kids with you as well because they have kids rides. The food is great and a little pricey but once again, totally worth it. The only thing that isn't the best feature is that if you leave past 9, you cannot re-enter which I hope that changes in the upcoming years.

This is a tiny little festival that is trying sooooo hard!…read more We finally went (first time, ever) on Friday and there were a total of 5 tents outside: one selling food tickets, one serving the food, one covering the DJ/ music man, one for dining in and one selling Egyptian coffee. There were also 2 inflatable kiddie castle type things. Upon entering the parking lot (free parking and admission), it looks like pretty much nothing worthwhile. We approached the ticket tent and were told a little bit about the festival: donkeys and camels were arriving on Saturday, there is a small booth in the church basement selling Egyptian iconography items along with religious items and nonrelated knickknacks, there are cooking demos and church tours. Being hot outside, we decided to head inside and check out the merchandise. I think the vendor was from the Sphinx shop at Southridge Mall, but I could be wrong. There were books, anhks, jewelry, scarfs and other merchandise laid out on tables and in what can best be described as hutches. The cooking demos were every other hour with the church tours being on the other hours. The church tour wasn't really a tour, but kind of a lecture on the history of the church and a description of the paintings and various items within. It was very interesting and we learned a lot of new information. We didn't stick around for the cooking demo, but headed outside to eat. Macaroni beschamel, gyros, kofta, chicken and dolemades (stuffed grape leaves) were a few of the menu items, along with baklava and other Egyptian desserts that I didn't recognize. Soda, water, and mango juice were available also. The worst part of this festival is that we had to hike across a driveway and then a rather large expanse of straw covered grass to get to the tent where we could sit and dine. They should perhaps plan to put the dining tent adjacent to the food tent in the future. The kiddie castle things were in the process of being inflated while we ate, but there were only maybe 4 kids there, and they appeared to be members of the church. The coffee tent was a small little thing, with 4 cushions for seating. The coffee was described to us as being akin to espresso and it was. Tickets are $1 each, but for every 10 that you purchase, you get 1 free. There is also a very short survey that you can fill out to get an additional 2 tickets for free. All in all, for a new festival ( I think this was only their 3rd year), it was pretty nice. I would have preferred more shopping and perhaps a few more historical exhibits, but they have time and room to grow. If you've never been, I recommend that you give it a chance and help support a newer member of the Milwaukee festival scene. The food, alone, is worth it! 107/2015

I have been to nearly all of Milwaukee's lakefront ethnic festivals, and Mexican Fiesta is by far…read moremy favorite one. The food is superb, the music electic, the crowd diverse, and the atmosphere extremely friendly and accessible. Mexican Fiesta, more so than Milwaukee's other ethnic festivals, is all about authenticity. For instance, you may hear some Italian at Festa Italiana, and some German at German Fest, but Mexican Fiesta is totalmente en espanol. There are dance contests. Mariachi bands with four guitarrists, four violinists, and four trumpeters, for a grand total of 12 band members. Freakin' awesome! Mexican Fiesta is put on by Mexicans for Mexicans. Those of us who aren't Mexican are just visiting. Everyone is welcome, of course, but this is a Mexican party through and through.

Mexican Fiesta. Hmm…read more Well, it was ok. First off, you should probably know Spanish. Mine understanding is so-so, which makes the festival not as fun. Secondly, the food was kinda watered down in my opinion. Nachos? Tacos? Boring? I expected more flava. Also, I don't eat meat so it was SLIM PICKINGS. I ordered something called a banana dumpling expecting a sweet dish only to find it was full of rice and beans. Woulda been helpful if there had been a description. Third, you should have a mullet. Or wear an offensive tee shirt against women. Then you'll totally fit in. We payed 26 dollars for the two of us to enter, then spent 36 dollars on nachos(without meat), Mexican corn (freakin delish), Sil's donuts, a pork shish ka bob, a dumpling I threw away, and soda. It was over priced to say the least. And you have to purchase tickets which is crap. Would I go again? Hell no. I will walk down the street to GTO's and save 35 dollars and probably enjoy the food more.

Bay View Gallery Night....what can I say. Ever since I was made aware of this event, I have become…read morea big fan. I used to go to the Third Ward Gallery Night but since this is in my neighborhood, I decided to go to this one instead. They have had food trucks at Morgan Park (by St Thomas More High School). That has definitely gotten bigger since it started - I remember when it started a couple years ago, there were only a few trucks. But yesterday, there was a huge crowd with at least 8 trucks and little tents of other vendors for food. I love walked down KK, wandering into different stores that have art. Sometimes I'll walk into stores I rarely frequent and end up finding things that are interesting that I want to buy. Definitely visit the Hide House because there are definitely a lot of artists in there with their art displays. There is always interesting art to look at. Also, don't forget to go to the Makers Market at Colectivo's parking lot - there is a lot of cool handmade jewelry and art for sale. There is always something cool that catches my eye that would make a fool gift for someone (or for myself...haha!). Come to Bay View Gallery Night - it's worthy a visit.

It was a great night of music wrapped into the visual arts. It created a cerebral pairing of the…read moresenses. The event was well attended, the weather made it more than welcoming. Great to see so many people enjoying the main drag of Bay View.

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I signed up to do this... had heard that it was a…read more"haunted" tour. Heard that it was a "Gothic" tour. Also heard that it was an "historical" tour. It was all of those and more! It started raining about an hour before we were supposed to meet, and was considering skipping out. I am SO glad that I made the decision to join the group. Rain or shine, good weather or inclement, I would recommend Gothic Milwaukee tours to anyone and everyone. Anna's love for history and Milwaukee, shine through her as she regales her followers with stories of fame and fortune, ballrooms and back allies. She. Is. A. HOOT!! I got goosebumps more than a few times, listening to her tell stories about what has happened behind Milwaukee's beautiful facade. All said and done it's about 90 minutes, and approximately 3 miles of walking. The terrain is easy, it's all on city sidewalks. And Anna does a fantastic job of attracting your eyes to all the amazing things that downtown Milwaukee has to offer. If you like ghost stories you need to book a tour with Gothic Milwaukee. If your love is history... Anna is your girl. If walking around and learning about architecture and cool "fun facts" about where all the businessman went for their lunch breaks (hint: it wasn't a soda shop), then you need to walk this walk! Just found out that Gothic Milwaukee also has self guided walking tours of Milwaukee in card form!! I am TOTALLY getting these for everyone for Christmas! What a great way to show people how great Milwaukee is AND get props for giving the coolest gift of the year!! I am happy. Thank you, Anna.

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this tour. The website www.gothicmilwaukee.com is pretty…read morebland, there's not a lot of information about the tours online as far as reviews go.....but DAMN this tour was WELL worth the $10! First and foremost, the tour guide Anna is phenomenal. Who knows if the stories are true (although doing some quick google research, all the stories seem to pan out!) She is very friendly, a great story teller, and really...really funny. The walking was light, with plenty of stops along the tour. Great stories about people you've heard about in Milwaukee, and some you haven't. The stories about the Pfister Hotel were really really interesting. This tour is definitely worth $10...and I'm looking forward to the Holiday tour as well.

For many years, the Holiday Craft Fair from was held at the State Fairgrounds on 84th St. the…read moreweekend of Thanksgiving from Friday through Sunday. For the past 2 years, the show has moved to the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin. It is probably close in size to the previous venue, but with free parking and easier getting in and out compared to the fairgrounds. Year to year, the shows can vary - some craftier than others. While it is targeted for the middle-aged types who like to decorate their homes with handmade crafty items, it is pretty diverse. Among the vendors you'll find gutter guards, insurance, basement waterproofing and windows. Then there are vendors offering non-crafty items like candy, nuts, even a homemade ice cream stand. For the record, 2013 was not one of the craftier years. We managed to cover the floor pretty quickly. Some of the vendors we always love to see, like "The Nut Man" who sells bulk nuts and chocolates, were there. Other vendors we liked sold hand-crafted ornaments, pillowcases or decorative magnets made from vintage-looking bottle caps. It's interesting to see, even if you're not in the market for something decorative for the home. Still, we always leave with something, a gift, even if it is small. For us Thanksgiving weekend is craft fair weekend and this is usually one of the better ones out there.