MILWAUKEE — Festivals of cheese, beer and Nordic culture await! WTMJ N.O.W.’s Sandy Maxx curated her top events in the area to maximize your weekend fun, as she does every Thursday for WTMJ
MIDWEST VIKING FESTIVAL
FRIDAY & SATURDAY FROM 10 A.M. – 4 P.M. — UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY’S VIKING HOUSE GROUNDS NORTH OF THE WOOD HALL LOT
As strange as it sounds to celebrate Vikings in Green Bay, the free annual Viking Fest is a fun way to embrace the marauder in your soul and experience. Immerse yourself in medieval Scandinavian traditions, culture and food.
Visit the Viking encampment to see blacksmiths, silversmiths, weavers, woodworkers, glass bead makers, and even Swedish wrestlers. See archery in action and you can play an ancient version of Viking board game called hnaftafl (neffeh-toffel) and a Swedish lawn game called kubb (COOB).
There will be battle demonstrations and cooks will be making food with ingredients only available during the Viking Age. There will also be food trucks if you want more modern flavor. Get a tour of the Viking House on the UW-Green Bay campus and enjoy Viking stories and songs, even get your name written in runes, the ancient alphabet. On Friday afternoon, reindeer from Aurora Acres will make an appearance at the festival
Free admission and fun for the whole family. For more info, click here.
4TH ANNUAL CURD FEST
SATURDAY 11 A.M. – 3 P.M. — DEER DISTRICT
Chow down on cheese curds of all kinds and even try to win a Cheese Curd Eating Contest on Saturday at the 4th Annual Curd Fest in Milwaukee’s Deer District at Drink Wisconsinbly.
Taste cheese curds from vendors like Big Moo Cheese, the Lakefront Brewery’s Curd Wagon, Crafty Cow and Ellsworth Cheese Curds. You can play yard games like cornhole and Giant Jenga while enjoying live music all afternoon by Keith Stras and the Polka Confetti. You can try to win a trophy in the competition to eat a pound of fresh, squeaky curds the fastest.
For more info, click here.
MILWAUKEE OKTOBERFEST
FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY — CATHEDRAL SQUARE PARK
Oktoberfest celebrations continue into the month of October in the city and in Cedarburg. Milwaukee Oktoberfest is happening Friday through Sunday in Cathedral Square Park. Get competitive in a cornhole tournament, Beer Stein Hosting Contest and the Usinger’s Brat Eating Contest. Sign up to enter your pup in the Weiner Dog Pageant on Sunday. The Miss Oktoberfest competition on Saturday afternoon includes contestants yodeling and beer stein hoisting for cash and prizes.
German food by Kegel’s Inn and lots of German music and dancing, plus the live music line-up Friday night includes Polka Floyd – Pink Floyd performed in polka style. On Saturday, enjoy The Squeezettes and also Pat McCurdy.
For more info, click here.
CEDARBURG OKTOBERFEST
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY — DOWNTOWN HISTORIC CEDARBURG
Fun free festival full of German food, music, and dancing, plus beer and wine to sip and vendors to browse. Saturday, enjoy the German Spelling Bee, Beer Stein Holding Contest, Contests for Best Lederhosen and Best Dirndl, and a Sauerkraut Eating Contest. You can enjoy the performances of the Glockenspiel both days at the top of each hour of the festival.
For more info, click here.
