Wisconsin State Fair
Aug. 2-12
Wisconsin State Fair Park
Our fair state’s State Fair, which attracts more than a million people each year, has something for everyone: concerts, carnival rides, racing pigs, a staggering array of infomercial products and enough fried food to power a small city.
Black Arts Fest
Aug. 4
Henry Maier Festival Park
Traditional African and modern African-American cultures collide at this inaugural festival. Soak in R&B and Motown sounds, witness the evolution of traditional and modern dance styles, and wander through a marketplace packed with jewelry, accessories and handcarved wood sculptures.
Center Street Daze
Aug. 4
Center Street between Holton and Humboldt
FREE — Think of it as one of the city’s best block parties. This long-running street fest boasts more than 30 bands playing across eight stages, a classic car show and a pushcart race.
Firefly Art Fair
Aug. 4-5
Kneeland-Walker House
You can admire – or buy – original art while soaking up some suburban sun this weekend when the Wauwatosa Historical Society invites more than 80 jury-selected artists to sell their work amid the gardens of the Kneeland-Walker House, 7406 Hillcrest Dr. Then stroll inside the 1890 Victorian to ooh and aah over its opulent interior.
Concours d’Elegance
Aug. 4-5
Veterans Park
It’s exactly like the Westminster Kennel Club – just sub in exhaustively maintained vintage Italian Ferraris for impeccably groomed Scottish terriers. Automobile enthusiasts gather on the lakefront for a two-day showcase of classic luxury and sports vehicles (pre-1975 cars only) that includes a Saturday-night social at the Milwaukee Club and an opportunity to get behind the wheel for a Sunday drive.
Dream Together Gala
Aug. 10
Discovery World
Once a year, the St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care hosts a black-tie gala to raise funds for its patients. The event features auctions, ra ffles and a dinner catered by Bartolotta Restaurant Group.
The Avett Brothers
Aug. 11-12
Riverside Theater
The thrice-Grammy nominated indie-pop-folk-rock fusion group headlines two consecutive nights at the Riverside Theater. Come for the smooth, synchronous twin lead vocals from the titular Brothers Avett – Scott and Seth – but stay for the ever-rotating support of banjos, stand-up basses, harmonicas, fiddles and kazoos.
Comedian Pete Lee
Aug. 11
The Northern Lights Theater
Janesville native Pete Lee brings his winning stand-up comic sensibilities to Potawatomi for a Saturday night doubleheader. Lee has appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”; he also starred in a half-hour special for Comedy Central in 2008.
Milwaukee Irish Fest
Aug. 16-19
Henry Maier Festival Park
Scrounge up some spuds, sip a tipple of whiskey at the Jameson Lounge and spend a day exploring the world’s largest Irish cultural festival. Fan favorite bands like Gaelic Storm and We Banjo 3 will be returning again this year.
Yacht Rock Revue
Aug. 19
Turner Hall
Let the breezy melodies of songs by ’70s rockers like Steely Dan, Toto and Hall & Oates – played by this tribute act – carry you away to a sun-soaked island where the water’s warm, the drinks are cold and yacht rock never got old.
Hip-Hop Week MKE
Aug. 20-26
Multiple venues
In 2017, hip-hop became America’s most-listened-to genre, according to Nielsen Music, so it’s only fitting that Milwaukee would inaugurate a hip-hop festival this year. Spearheaded by Milwaukee Ald. Khalif Rainey, Hip-Hop Week MKE seeks to spark a dialogue in the community via music.
Mexican Fiesta
Aug. 24-26
Henry Maier Festival Park
Follow the inviting mariachi sounds to this three-day fiesta celebrating everything south of the border. The event doubles as a fundraiser to provide scholarship aid for young Hispanic men and women seeking continued education, so attendees can rest easy knowing the morning-after cerveza-and-tequila headache was all for a good cause.
Tyanna Buie: Im•Positioned
Aug. 26-Nov. 25
Lynden Sculpture Garden
Multidisciplinary artist and 2012 Nohl Fellow Tyanna Buie kicks off the opening of her solo exhibition – which runs through Nov. 25 at the sculpture garden – with a conversation, inviting artists-in-residence at Lynden to discuss their work with her.
Rebecca Makkai
Aug. 28
Boswell Book Company
If you’re a sucker for bittersweet novels about the transformative power of friendship, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Rebecca Makkai’s fourth and latest work, The Great Believers. The author will chat with “Lake Effect” host Mitch Teich during her appearance at Boswell.
