Milwaukee Magazine StaffYou haven't truly lived until you've attended Summerfest. And you haven't truly attended Summerfest until you've completed these 22 activities.
Photo by Rebecca Kames
1. Attend your favorite band’s reunion tour. Bonus points if more than 50 percent of the original members are missing.
2. Dance while standing on a table, bench, aluminum bleacher or other elevated station.
3. Compete in the Meijer Hole-in-One Contest for a chance at a $5,000 Grand Prize.
4. Mosh it up at the Rebel Stage.
5. Watch the Summerfest Big Bang Fireworks light up the skies over the lakefront on opening night.
6. Get in free earlier in the day with a promotion, then snag a wristband and return for free later in the evening (before 7 p.m.)
7. Hunker down for a full 12-hour day (noon to midnight).
8. Escape the rain inside the Lakefront Brewery tent (and grab a firkin while you’re there).
Photo by Rebecca Kames
Photo by Jessica Paetzke
9. Sit down for a chicken dinner at Saz’s or try a Saz’s Sampler Combination, both quintessential gustatory experiences at Summerfest.
10. Ride the Sky Glider from one end of the park to the other.
11. Procure some peripatetic festival food (Miss Katie’s “walking pasta,” corn on the cob, Mader’s beer battered bratwurst on a stick…) and eat it as you amble through the crowds.
12. If you work nearby, experience the ease of entry that is walking over on your lunch break. Enjoy a Solo pizza cone or just an hour of people-watching before heading back to the afternoon grind. Consider it reparations for the horrifying traffic the fest contributes to your evening commute!
13. Take a spin on the 80-85-foot Ferris wheel on the north end. It costs $5 a head to enjoy, and it’s open late, allowing you to take in the lights of the grounds and Downtown. If you get tired of mini-doughnuts and Flogging Molly, it’s a lovely time.
14. Check out the “high-flying, acrobatic dunks” at the Bucks Rimrockers show at the Gruber Law Offices SportZone.
15. Try to find your friends at the Miller Lite Oasis with limited cell reception.
Photo by Jessica Paetzke
16. Enjoy a headliner on the lawn at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.
17. Walk against the stream of people moseying from stage to stage
18. Skip the big headliners for a bit and go see the real talent, those bucket drummers.
Photo by Jessica Paetzke
Photo by Rebecca Kames
19. Escape from the craziness and sit on the rocks by the lake.
Photo by Rebecca Kames
20. Spend some time people-watching and judging festival-goers’ sartorial choices. Summerfest attire runs the gamut from festivalwear (braided headbands and rompers) to classic Midwest comfort (oversized t-shirts, unironic fanny packs).
21. Spend the day guarding your front-row picnic table at a ground stage. Specifically if your favorite band is playing a 10 p.m. show.
Photo by Rebecca Kames
22. Fight the crowds for a midnight shuttle after the fest closes for the night. Arrive home two hours later.