First Ever PridetoberFest

PrideFest 2018. Photo taken June 8, 2018 by Jack Fennimore.

There’s never a bad time to celebrate the city’s LGBTQ+ community, and that’s why Pridetober Fest, which has replaced the Pride Fest summer event this year, is sure to be just as wild, fun and memorable as the usual event. Cactus Club’s Beet Street Harvest Festival is making a return this year, featuring plenty of local food and artist vendors, and the Grohmann Museum is offering a glimpse into the past with its 11th Annual Lost Arts Festival.

October 8-9: PridetoberFest

Milwaukee’s largest celebration of the city’s LGBTQ+ didn’t occur in its usual format this year in June, but will still take place — this time in October. The festival will take place at the Summerfest grounds and will run from 3 p.m. to midnight on Friday and from 12 p.m. to midnight on Saturday. Headlining performers include Big Freedia, Jaida Essence Hall and GottMik, as well as a performance from Milwaukee’s GGOOLLDD. For every online ticket sold, $1 will be donated to the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. For more information including a full lineup and a breakdown of the kid-friendly shows, click here.

Lakefront Brewery’s My Turn Series allows its employees to brew a special beer of their choice. For its 40th rendition, a Lakefront brewer who goes by Towny brewed a Milwaukee Marzen, a 7.5% version of the brewery’s popular Oktoberfest Lager featuring organic German specialty malts and hops. The release party will begin at 5 p.m. at the Estabrook Beer Garden.

October 9: Beet Street Harvest Festival

After taking a year off in 2020 due to the pandemic, Cactus Club’s Beet Street Harvest Festival makes its return. Teaming up with Palomino and Goodkind, the festival will food, drinks and live music from noon to 6 p.m. Step inside Cactus Club to check out the Beet Street Music Video Showcase, featuring videos from local acts on loop. Check out the wares at the Punk Rock Rummage Sale, or take part in the Great Midwestern Pie Championship courtesy of Honeypie. After the event, Cactus Club will host an indoor after party. For a detailed breakdown of activities, vendors and performing artists, click here.

October 9: The Get Down Soul Dance Party 18th Anniversary 

Milwaukee’s favorite throwback dance party is celebrating 18 years at Mad Planet. The Get Down, which is run by Andy Noble, owner of We Buy Records in Riverwest and plant-based restaurant Strange Town, features soul, funk, disco, Latin and more — all spun on original 45s. The dance party will begin at 9 p.m.

The Grohmann Museum is hosting its 11th edition of its annual Lost Arts Festival — a celebration of the craftspeople and trades immortalized in the museum’s various collections of paintings and sculptures. Shoe carvers, book binders, lace makers and more will demonstrate their trades and give attendees a glimpse at skills that have become less common these days. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

October 8, 10: Verdi’s Rigoletto at Marcus Performing Arts Center

Rigoletto, an opera by the composer Giuseppe Verdi, will play at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. It will be the debut for the center’s new Artistic Advisor, Francesco Milioto. The story follows a hunchbacked jester Rigoletto and his daughter Gilda, who falls in love with a Duke. Betrayal and sacrifice ensue thanks to a curse. The opera is sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage, and will run for approximately three hours with an intermission. The opera will run on Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and on Oct. 10 at 2:30 p.m.