German Fest on Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee
Ethnic Festival in "Beer City" July 24-27, 2008 is a Cultural Feast
German Fest is a Festival celebrating the German culture. The Ethnic German festival is held at the Summerfest Grounds on the Milwaukee lake front on Lake Michigan. German fest is a popular ethnic festival that takes place Thursday, July 24 to Sunday July 27, 3008. German Fest features food, drink, beer, music ,entertainment, fireworks and Dachshund Races during the four day event.
German Fest is one of the many weekends of summer festivals held on the Milwaukee Summerfest Grounds. The ethnic festivals on the lake front celebrate the achievements and contributions of the many immigrant groups that settled in Wisconsin and made up the culture of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee attracted many German immigrants to settle in the lake front city. German immigrants brought with them a strong work ethic, technical skills and the master craft of brew making. German breweries were an important element of Milwaukee's economy for many years. Pabst, Schlitz and Miller Brewery were big names in the brewery business. Milwaukee became known as "Beer City." Most of the big breweries are now gone. Miller Brewery is still located on the west side of Milwaukee.
Food
German Fest celebrates the German love of filling food and finely crafted beer. The German Fest web site some fun facts that give an idea of how much food is consumed at German Fest. During the course of the four day festival, people will consume:
- 10,000 pounds of potatoes in potato pancakes
- 8,000 pounds of onions
- 10,000 pounds of potato salad
- 5,000 pounds of cole slaw
- 10,000 pounds of sauerkraut
- 5,000 chickens
- 200 pigs for Spanferkel
- 20,000 bratwurst
- 20,000 roast pork sandwiches
- 9.000 dumplings
- 15,000 pieces of strudel (German pastry)
- 20,000 pieces of tortes and pastries
Food at German Fest includes hot dogs, coffee cake, beef goulash, herring, smoked pork chops, dumplings, roasted port loin, marinated beef, sauerkraut, schnitzel, sausage, tortes and more.
Dachshund Races!
Dachshund Races are held on Sunday, The race of the Weiner dogs is a lively fun-filled event.held on Saturday at 3:00 pm. Activities at Dachshund Park begin at Noon, with the race following at 3:00 pm. Dachshund Races are an event where anything can happen. The long bodied, short legged, lovable Weiner dogs are faster than most people imagine. The Weiner dogs may head straight for the finish line, or they may make a detour or turn around and go backwards. Dachshund Races are not an extreme sport. The Weiner dog races are all about the fun.
Fireworks
Fireworks will light the Milwaukee skies on Thursday, July 24 and Sunday, July 27. The fireworks shows will start at 9:30 pm.
Entertainment
Musical entertainment is provided by headlining performers from Germany, local bands and Yodeling contests. The Entertainment stages are Leinenkugel's Stage, Oktoberfest Stage, Miller Lite Stage, Harley Stage, German Fest Stage, Musik Garten Stage and Mader's' Am Michigan See.
The weekend of fun is kept lively with cheerful German music, yodeling and Oompah bands. Entertainment includes Anton Aus Tirol, Die Schmalzler, Die Sandler, Margret Almer - Austrian Yodeler and singer of folk music, Alpen Echos and Biba & Die Butzemanner.
Culture
The Cultural Village features the Auswandererwelt Balllinstadt Museum, or Ballinstadt "Port of Dreams" museum from Hamburg. The Hamburg museum is dedicated to the five million people who left Europe between 1850 and 1939 via Hamburg. The museum is an important research tool for researchers of ancestry doing genealogy and research on the family tree. Visit the Deutsches Auswander Museum display. They will check their records and ship manifest of family members free of charge.
Saturday, July 26: 3:30 pm: John Gurta, a historian who wrote "The Making of Milwaukee," which was the basis for an Emmy winning documentary, will present iGerman Milwaukeei, which is a historic overview of the German influence on Milwaukee.
Sunday, July 27, Noon - 2:00 pm: Build a Bridge. Architect, John Peine, will present activities for children and teens with K-nex.
Tickets
General admission at the gate is $13 adults, $7 Seniors (60 and over with ID0 and Students ($7 with ID).
Advanced tickets for adults are discounted to $10. Advance ticked may be purchased on the German Fest website or at local business that are advance ticket outlets. Advance ticket outlets are Alpine Boutique on Capitol Drive, Port of Hamburg on South Howell, Old German Beer Hall (Hofbrauhaus), German Glass & Gift & Christmas Chalet in Richfield, Usinger's Sausage on Old World Third Street in Milwaukee, Weissgerber's Gasthaus in Waukesha.
Summerfest Grounds are on the Henry W. Meyer Festival Grounds. 200 North Harbor Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There is parking for a fee at the Summerfest Grounds and at parking lots in the vicinity.
For additional Milwaukee travel information, read: Top Hotels Downtown Milwaukee, WI and Ethnic Restaurants Milwaukee Wisconsin
