If you love music and want to share the love, take your family to Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This festival features a wide variety of music and spans generations. You will see fans of all ages.
This festival offers such a memorable experience that author
Patricia Schultz include Summerfest in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
book. She describes the history: “It all
began in 1961 with Summerfest, an 11-day celebration of music and food that
gets bigger and better every year.
Yesterday’s tents have been replaced by a dozen permanent stages…”
I’m old enough to reflect on attending concerts as a child
and bringing my kids to the festival.
When I was a kid, we spent most of our time at one big stage. We had one concert to target. I still remember fondly the excitement of
seeing Tina Turner singing and dancing at high energy, Janet Jackson’s showmanship,
and my mom’s excitement over hearing Julio Iglesias sing live. Now you don’t even need to visit the biggest
stage; you can hop from one stage to another.
With concerts overlapping at multiple stages, deciding which
concert to attend can be a challenge.
You’ll want to check out the Summerfest website and map out the concerts
you want to see. Map out the timing and
stage locations. We walked quickly walked
from one stage to another to see four concerts in one night. We danced and sang with the Village People,
KC and The Sunshine Band, The Commodores, and Third Eye Blind, all in one
night. Even our kids had spelled out
YMCA at so many wedding receptions that it felt surreal to do it with the
band. We had great conversations about
early decades, especially the 1970s.
Single day tickets cost $26, 3-day pass $62 (any 3 days), or
9-day pass ($130). None of these entry
tickets include concerts at the American Family Amphitheater. You can enter with a purse, tote, or cinch
bag 9”x 10” x 12” or smaller. Don’t try
to enter with a backpack or cooler.
