RNC To Include Milwaukee Vendor Marketplace

Jolie Kadima-Brox (right) and husband Robert Brox, owners of Fit4YouMKE, showcase their Lavender Lemonade at MKE 2024 vendor fair. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Outside of catering or hosting an event, Wisconsin businesses will get their chance to sell to Republican National Convention attendees through “Convention Fest.”

Designed as a daytime event before the nationally-televised evening programming, the “street fair experience” will operate all four days of the July convention.

“Attendees can expect to find pop-up booths featuring some of the best food, drinks, and shopping that Wisconsin has to offer, in addition to live entertainment events,” says a press release from the Republican National Committee’s Committee on Arrangements.

A specific location for the festival has not been announced, but it is expected to be held within the secured perimeter of the convention.

“The Host Committee team has forged strong working relationships with the Milwaukee business community over the last two years,” said Host Committee chair and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus in a statement. “We could not be more excited about the 2024 Convention Fest serving as another opportunity to work with our local partners to highlight the best of what Wisconsin has to offer while maximizing the Convention experience.”

The Committee on Arrangements is the partisan team in charge of the actual convention. A nonpartisan host committee, led primarily by Wisconsin residents, is in charge of fundraising and other logistics to attract and host the convention.

“Convention Fest will be a unique and fun opportunity for Convention guests from across the country to experience what makes the state of Wisconsin great,” said COA chair Anne Hathaway. “As the week’s premier daytime event, I am confident that Convention Fest will serve as an unforgettable Milwaukee showcase as we gather to launch our nominee, President Donald J. Trump, to victory in November.”

The convention is scheduled to occur from July 15-18.

Businesses looking to participate can register online by 5 p.m. on May 22. The cost to participate was not revealed.

The host committee and COA held a vendor fair in August 2023 when the first debate of the presidential cycle was held in Milwaukee.

The city has become particularly adept at hosting street markets in recent years. In addition to several long-running festivals that dot the city, the Milwaukee Night Market brings all of the city together for four nights each summer. Founded by NEWaukee and now led by the Westown Association, the 2024 edition of the free-to-attend event is scheduled to occur June 26, July 24, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11.