Summerfest
| Summerfest | |
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| Genre | Eclectic - From Alternative to Zydeco: Alternative, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Contemporary, Country, Electronic, Folk, Funk, Gospel, Hard rock, Metal, Hip hop, Indie, Jam Band, Jazz, Pop, R&B, Reggae, Rock |
| Dates | 11 days (Starts last Wednesday in June annually) |
| Location(s) |
Henry Maier Festival Park Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Attendance | 800,000-900,000 |
| Website | |
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Summerfest is an annual music festival held at the 75-acre (30-hectare) Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually including the 4th of July holiday. Summerfest attracts between 800,000 and 900,000 people each year, promoting itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival", a title certified by the Guinness World Records since 1999.
Summerfest is operated by a non-profit board that hires the production staff to operate both the venue and main Summerfest event, which features local and nationally known music talent from a variety of music genres. The event also provides the opportunity to sample a wide variety of food from many Milwaukee-area restaurants. Other Summerfest attractions include comedy acts, shopping vendors, fireworks (including "The Big Bang" on opening night), other special attractions, family activities, and more.
Performing and Recording Artists make personal appearances on 11 sponsor-themed stages throughout the grounds from noon to midnight, including the 23,000-capacity Marcus Amphitheater. All shows are free with an admission ticket, with the exception of headlining acts at the Marcus Amphitheater. Admission is between US$11 and US$20, depending on the time of day. There are numerous promotions for discounted or free admission.
Summerfest was conceived in the 1960s by then-mayor Henry W. Maier. Inspired by his visit to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, Maier envisioned a similar ethnic-themed festival in Milwaukee, and in 1962 formed a panel of business and civic leaders to study the feasibility of a large-scale summer festival. By the middle of the decade, the panel drew up a proposal for a 10-day multi-event festival with the proposed name of "Milwaukee World Festival," which was changed briefly in 1966 to "Juli Spaß" (German for "July Fun") and then to "Summerfest".
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Wikipedia