Last Weekend in Milwaukee…

Milwaukee is a diverse city with numerous events happening every weekend. The Third Coast Daily photo team visited several of them last weekend and has a photo gallery including Milwaukee’s own Project Runway premiere parties, The Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel & Arts Festival, and Festa Italiana. Just a small sampling of what our fair city has to offer.

 All photos taken by Angela Morgan and Madeline Pieschel.

Thursday |  Project Runway premiere parties

Two Milwaukee based fashion designers, Timothy Westbrook and Miranda Levy, celebrated the twelfth season premiere of Lifetime’s hit show Project Runway with excitement. Both designers are contestants on this season’s cast, competing against 14 other designers from around the nation in hopes to ultimately win the grand prize: a prize package worth more than half a million dollars, to help enable their creativity and launch their new business. Although Timothy’s and Miranda’s premiere parties took place at the same time, a shuttle was provided between the two hotels so fans could show their support and love for both Milwaukee designers. Timothy’s party consisted of a fashion show at the elegant Pfister Hotel, while Miranda’s party included a Q & A, a raffle drawing, and a silent auction held at the InterContinental Hotel. Project Runway airs every Thursday on Lifetime at 8 p.m.

Saturday | The Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel & Arts Festival

Saturday marked the 16th Anniversary of the Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel & Arts Festival. The Garfield Ave Fest was founded in 1997 by local businessmen from the area as a way to show appreciation for their loyal customers. The once small celebration has grown into a 6-block festival that showcases over 150 vendors, live music from 16 local bands, food and drinks, and a 20,000 person crowd. Garfield’s 502 Restaurant and Pub located on Garfield Avenue hosts the festival annually.

Sunday | Festa Italiana

The first ethnic festival to be held on Milwaukee’s lakefront was Festa Italiana and this past weekend they celebrated 34 years. Everywhere you looked there were numerous Italian restaurants with traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine. Lines for gelato were constant (but worth the wait) and canolis flew off the shelves. Some unique entertainment included games of bocce ball and gondola rides in the beautiful canals (lagoon, actually) of Lake Michigan. New this year was the option of purchasing a Festa Uncorked passport, where you could participate in a special tasting of a dozen different varieties of Italian wines. Acts from near and far entertained audiences including crooners singing the tunes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, performances by Tradizione Vivente, the Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee and the Florentine Opera performed selections from their upcoming 80th season. Each night wrapped with a Bartolotta’s fireworks show like we do in the summer in Milwaukee.

See below for Third Coast Daily’s full photo gallery from last weekend in Milwaukee.