Celebrate Juneteenth at Milwaukee’s Annual Celebration

Juneteenth Festival. Photo taken June 19th, 2017 by Jack Fennimore.

There are many things to celebrate this weekend — whether that’s Juneteenth, Pride Month or Father’s Day. Or maybe you’re just excited that it finally feels like summer. Speaking of summer, the Summer Soulstice Music Festival is back — featuring two main stages and plenty of vendor booths. The Juneteenth Parade will kickoff the annual Juneteenth Street Festival, and Sculpture Milwaukee is celebrating the start of its summer season at 3rd Street Market Hall.

June 16-19: Nashville North Honky Tonk Grand Opening Weekend

Nashville North, a new Brady Street bar that takes inspiration from Nashville’s Broadway, is celebrating its grand opening with a weekend-long lineup of live music. The bar, which will focus on live music and (eventually) line dancing, will also serve smash burgers and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, as well as a lineup of craft beer and cocktails. The list of performers includes the Jackie Brown Band, Kenny Sunshine and The Blacktop Kings. To check out the full lineup, click here.

Milwaukee’s official celebration of the Summer Soulstice is back! This free street festival blocks off a section of North Ave. as bands take to two main stages for a full day of live music. Highlights include Klassik performing on the Kenilworth Stage at 10 p.m., Tigera performing at the Ivanhoe Stage at 6 p.m. and NileXNile performing at the Ivanhoe Stage at 9 p.m. A third stage, the Black Cat Alley Stage, will feature a lineup of DJs. The event will also have a variety of food from vendors such as Meat on the Street, FreshFin Poke and Juniors Smoked BBQ. Market vendors will be set up throughout, and kids activities will be available from noon to 6 p.m. Click here for more information.

June 18: Sculpture Milwaukee Kickoff Celebration

Sculpture Milwaukee is celebrating the kickoff of its summer season with a festival of interactive artwork and performances at the 3rd Street Market Hall. The event will feature live mural painting, galleries and dancing; with the goal of bringing the art community back to downtown. The celebration will feature a market hosted by CirculateMKE, where local entrepreneurs and makers will sell their goods. Coinciding with the kickoff is the release of Sculpture Milwaukee’s Sculpture Milwaukee Passport app, where visitors to any of Sculpture Milwaukee’s artworks can virtually check-in to learn more about the art they’re seeing. Sculpture Milwaukee’s Kickoff Celebration will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

June 18: Eagle Park’s Fifth Anniversary Festival

Eagle Park Brewing Company is celebrating its fifth birthday with a festival featuring unlimited free food, specialty beers and live music. The brewery will be rolling out some new beers for the occasion, including a the Double Barrel Fly By Night (a bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stout conditioned on vanilla beans and then finished in a cherry brandy barrel) and the Double Barrel Naughty Water (a bourbon-barrel-aged barley wine finished in a Pips wildflower mead cask). The event will feature performances from local musicians who also work at the brewery, including Fellow Kinsman, The Oxleys and Wire & Nail. An unlimited rotating buffet will be available from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The celebration is a ticketed event, and will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on tickets, click here.

Milwaukee’s 51st annual Juneteenth celebration, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, is this weekend. Juneteenth celebrations first popped up in Milwaukee in 1971, and since then, the day has become a national holiday. Milwaukee is celebrating the day with a parade, starting at 9 a.m. A street festival will follow shortly after on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. between W. Burleigh St. and W. Center St. and will end at 4 p.m. A “special concert” will follow the festival from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, click here.

June 19: 414Flea at Zocalo Food Park

414Flea is kicking off its Summer Series events with a pop-up market at the Zocalo Food Park. Over forty small businesses will come together to sell vintage clothing, home goods, handmade jewelry and more. Live music will begin at 6 p.m., featuring performances by The Girl, Barf Lord and Bug Moment. Eight different food trucks will be serving drinks and meals, including Zocalo’s newest resident Meat & Co. The event is free and will run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.