Kite Festival Will Liven Up Lakefront

2017 Kite Festival. Photo by Jack Fennimore.

The Green Bay Packers are playing the Chicago Bears Sunday and the fall festivities are popping up, but first it’s time to reward yourself for beating the Labor Day heat with some fun. The North Avenue Market is celebrating its first birthday with four days of entertainment, including food and drink specials and live music. The Frank Mots Int’l Kite Festival will fill the sky above Milwaukee’s lakefront with giant kites, and Lakefront Brewery is bringing back its Fall Fest of Ale for the first time since 2019.

September 7-10: North Avenue Market One-Year Anniversary

It’s already been one year since the highly-awaited North Avenue Market opened its doors to the public. Now it’s time to celebrate the food hall’s birthday. North Avenue Market will host four days of live music, activities and plenty of food. The food hall’s occupants will run food specials, such as a Dawg City fish fry and Happy Hour at the Bittercube bar. The North Avenue Market, 5900 W. North Ave., will be open Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, check out Urban Milwaukee’s coverage of the event.

September 8-9: Nitelight

Joy Engine, which brought the moon to the Historic Third Ward and larger-than-life birds to Lakeshore State Park, will light up Historic Mitchell Street this weekend. Described as a “dazzling live spectacle,” the free evening event will feature immersive lighting projected on the Kunzelman Esser Lofts, 710 W. Historic Mitchell St. A festival will surround the central exhibit. Learn more in our August coverage.

September 8-9: TosaFest

Tosa Fest has been celebrating the city of Wauwatosa since 1976, and that celebration continues this weekend. TosaFest features live music on three stages, five different beer gardens, a food court and more. Attendees will have the chance to participate in a cheese curd eating contest, enroll in a drink-and-paint lesson and learn how to make sangria. The live music lineup includes performances by Wildered, Paige Hargrove, The People Brothers Band and many more. For a complete schedule of the many TosaFest happenings, check out the Wauwatosa Village website.

September 9: Shorewood Feast

The fourth annual Shorewood Feast, a family-friendly foodie event, will take over the stretch of road between the 4200 and 4400 blocks of Oakland Ave. The event will feature live music, a kid zone filled with fun activities and food and snacks from over a dozen businesses. Live music will take place on two different stages, featuring performances by Trapper Schoepp, Radio Radio, School of Rock students and more. Stop by one of the many food vendors, including Twisted Plants, Flour Girl & Flame, Matilda Bakehouse and more. Shorewood Feast will run from noon to 9 p.m.

September 9-10: Frank Mots Int’l Kite Festival

Giant kites will fill the sky at the Frank Mots In’tl Kite Festival, a free event field with fun for the entire family. The event will feature a grand launch of over 600 kites at noon on Saturday, followed by performances from a lineup of professional precision kite flying teams. This includes performances by California’s FOURCE as well as the Chicago Fire kite team. Gift of Wings will host the free event on Milwaukee’s lakefront in Veterans Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

September 9: The Great Riverwest Rummage Sale

The biggest rummage sale in Riverwest returns with an expanded three-block event space. Over 180 vendors will set up shop outside of Art Bar and Wonderland on W. Burleigh Street, where they will sell anything from vintage clothing and antiques to comic books and preserved foods. Bands will provide the background music to your shopping on three different stages, and Art Bar’s sidewalk patio bar will offer coffee and Bloody Marys. And if you find yourself getting hungry, an assortment of food trucks will be on site, and the Wonderland Express Window will be open for business. The Great Riverwest Rummage Sale is free to attend and will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

September 8-10: Festa Italiana

One of Milwaukee’s oldest ethnic festivals, Fiesta Italiana, is back this year celebrating its 43rd rendition. The festival will feature live entertainment, a bocce tournament, an Italian red sauce competition and more. Check out the Italian Heritage and Cultural Exhibit, featuring a historic photo collection of Italian immigrants embracing their new lives in Milwaukee. Festa Italiana will take place at the Italian Community Center and will run from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p..m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $10.

September 10: Fall Fest of Ale

Pumpkin spice is back on most cafe menus, so it was only a matter of time before the Fall festivals and Oktoberfests started popping up. Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St., is showing its love for autumn spice with the Fall Fest of Ale – an event that hasn’t occurred since 2019. Lakefront Brewery will transform its parking lot into a marker’s market featuring art, live music, food and plenty of drink. The brewery’s CurdWagon will be open and joined by other food trucks such as Tots on the Street, Chillwaukee, Vocado MKE and more. Lakefront Brewery will have its usual fall beers on tap as well as special offerings of hot apple cider and a Fall Harvest Bloody Mary. Fall Fest of Ale is free to attend and will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.