Summerfest is an annual music festival held for 11 days in downtown Milwaukee, WI. As
early as 1962, Mayor Henry Maier envisioned an annual summer festival to take place
in the city of Milwaukee that would attract tourists. The first Summerfest, held in
1968, was a huge success that spanned across 35 different locations in the city. In
1970 that the event was centralized to a former Nike missile location named Henry W.
Maier Festival Park, now famously known as the Summerfest Grounds. Summerfest
attracts approximately 800,000 people each year and has hosted musical talent
ranging from local acts to international music artists. Other Summerfest attractions
include a wide-variety of food, shopping vendors, firework shows, family activities,
and more. Summerfest is operated by Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. a non-profit
organization, which is governed by a volunteer board of directors.
