New for 2009!
Thursday Night Haus Special
While admission, food and beverage prices remain the same as in 2008, fest goers will love our Thursday Night Haus Special: free admission to the fest, and $1 off most beverages and food items served at more than 15 German Fest food booths and more than 23 German Fest bars!
Night Air Show
Don’t miss the German Fest Night Air Show, Saturday, July 25th from 7:30 to 9:30 pm – Milwaukee’s first night air show! The show will take place over the Harbor immediately east of the grounds, and will feature high-performance military and aerobatic planes performing demonstrations and thrilling aerobatics, along with pyrotechnics, smoke and lights. Participants include:
- U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team
- U.S. Navy FA-18 Hornet Demonstration
- U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle Demonstration
- U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter Demonstration
- Lima Lima T-34 Warbird Aerobatic Team
- Aeroshell T-6 Warbird Aerobatic Team
- Dave Dacy Wingwalking
- Bob Davis – Sukhoi SU-29
- Sean Tucker
Porsche Club of America
Car enthusiasts are sure to be impressed by the Porsche Club of America’s Porsche Car Display, where the club will present a tented variety of beautiful Porsche cars. Many of the vehicles in this tent will change on a daily basis, so be sure to check back throughout the fest.
Sprecher Beer Boots
Purchase a unique Sprecher Beer Boot while supplies last! This 28 oz. plastic beer boot with lanyard can be filled with your favorite Sprecher or German Fest beer for $15. Refill your boot with Sprecher or German Fest beer for $8 (a $2 savings). Purchase an empty boot for $7.
German Fest Raffle
This year's German Fest Raffle grand prize is a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta, donated by Ernie von Schledorn! Other prizes include FOUR round trip tickets to anywhere AirTran Airways flies in the continental US compliments of AirTran Airways and a case of wine a month for a year compliments of Weinbauer and Schlink Haus Wines – official wine of German Fest. Must be legal drinking age to win this prize. Tickets are $2 for one or $5 for three, and can be purchased at the German Fest office (8229 W. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee) or on the grounds during the festival.
Help the Hungry
To celebrate 100 years in business, Rosen's Bun, the only bun used at German Fest, is donating 10 cents for every bun consumed at German Fest to Second Harvest Food Bank of Milwaukee. Last year, fest goers consumed more than 40,000 buns during German Fest's run. If the same were done this year, it would translate to $4,000 for charity.
Friday's Taste of German Fest
To help Rosen's Bun reach their goal of $4,000 in donations to Second Harvest Food Bank of Milwaukee, German Fest will offer a "Taste of German Fest" sampler platter on Friday only. This platter will include a mini brat on a bun, a mini wiener on a bun, and a mini Hungarian sausage on a bun as well as potato salad and kraut for only $5 per platter. Best of all, three buns per platter means Rosen's will donate 30 cents to Second Harvest for each platter sold!
European Entertainment
What better way to get a taste of Germany than to see authentic European entertainers perform? This year, German Fest will host, among others, top German pop singer Styrina, fest-favorite Chikeria and Widderstein Bauba, whose slogan is "Good Music and Much Fun." For more information, see the Entertainment section of the German Fest website.
Trabant
A Trabant Automobile will be on display in the Cultural Area. Trabants were manufactured in East Germany between 1957 and 1991 when Germany became unified after the Cold War. The car’s body style and shape was simple due to steel shortages in the 1950s and the body was made from a plastic material called Duraplast.
This car offers a unique look into Germany's history during one of its most tumultuous time periods.
UW Marching Band's Popular 5th Quarter
At 6:45 pm Saturday July 25th, the popular UW Marching Band will perform what is affectionately known as "5th Quarter" in the Sports Area of German Fest. Approximately 50 student musicians will take part in the performance.
Woodcarver
New to the Cultural Area at German Fest is Bryan T. Berenson. Trained for five years as a wood and stone sculptor in Austria, Berenson is now a certified wood and stone sculptor living in Hartland, WI. Berenson supplies hand-carved wooden masks for the performers in the Muller Fashing Verein, one of German Fest’s member clubs. Each mask takes an average of 6 hours to carve and paint with more complicated masks taking significantly more time to carve. See examples of Bryan’s work at www.btbsculptor.com.
