The Green Bay Packers on Monday announced plans for their 13th annual Tailgate Tour, and this year, for the first time since 2010, it will make a stop in Milwaukee. The 2018 Packers Tailgate Tour, set for April 10-14, will travel throughout southern Wisconsin, eastern Iowa and the Milwaukee area to meet with fans, thank them for their support and try to revive excitement for the team after its first non-playoff season since 2008.
The five-day tour, which visits different parts of the state every year, will stop in Verona (April 10), Monticello, Iowa (April 11), Janesville (April 12), Milwaukee (April 13) and West Bend (April 14), with tailgate parties held in each city to support a local nonprofit organization.
Participating Tailgate Tour celebrities will include team president/CEO Mark Murphy, players Kenny Clark, Blake Martinez and Ty Montgomery and former Packers Rob Davis, Antonio Freeman and Bubba Franks.
"The Packers are looking forward to embarking on the 13th annual Tailgate Tour," Murphy said in a statement. "We’re excited to visit with fans in Wisconsin and Iowa this year, and we are proud to be supporting outstanding nonprofit organizations during the tour, with the help of our loyal fans."
As usual, the tour will travel around on a customized motor coach emblazoned with the "Green Bay Packers Tailgate Tour" logo and the phrase "Touching Down in Your Community." In addition to the designated locations, tour celebrities will make surprise stops as the schedule allows.
The Verona, Monticello, Janesville and Milwaukee tailgate parties will welcome the players and alumni at 6 p.m., and festivities will run until 8:30 p.m. The West Bend tailgate party will welcome the players and alumni at 1 p.m., and festivities will run until 3:30 p.m. A local non-profit organization will host each party, which features food, giveaways, question-and-answer sessions and autographs.
Tickets for the tailgate parties at all locations will go on sale Feb. 9, at 8 a.m. and cost $40. General admission tickets also will be available for $10 for each location, which include access to the Q-and-A sessions and tailgate party activities, with food and beverages available for purchase.
One hundred percent of the Tailgate Tour proceeds will benefit the hosting organizations.
According to the Packers, tailgate party locations, hosting organizations and ticket information are as follows:
Verona: April 10 at Verona Area High School, 300 Richard St., Verona. To benefit Badger Prairie Needs Network. Tickets on sale at Miller & Sons Supermarket locations in Verona and Mt. Horeb; Karate America in Verona; Little Caesars Pizza in Verona; and at Badger Prairie Needs Network at 1200 E. Verona Ave. or online at www.BPNN.org.
Monticello: April 11 at the Camp Courageous Durgin Pavilion, 12007 190th St., Monticello. To benefit Camp Courageous. Tickets on sale at the Camp Courageous facility or online at their website http://www.campcourageous.org/greenbay.
Janesville: April 12 at the Pontiac Convention Center, 2809 N. Pontiac Dr., Janesville. To benefit the Salvation Army Janesville. Tickets on sale at the Salvation Army facility at 514 Sutherland Ave., Janesville and at Janesville Kwik Trip locations (254 E. Memorial Dr., 3359 Milton Ave., 2518 W. Court St., 3123 US-51).
Milwaukee: April 13 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, 400 W. Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee. To benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. Tickets on sale at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena box office and Miller High Life Theatre box office at 500 W. Kilbourn Ave, Milwaukee.
West Bend: April 14 at West Bend West High School, 1305 E. Decorah Rd. To benefit The Threshold Inc. Tickets (CASH ONLY) on sale at The Threshold Inc., 600 Rolfs Ave., West Bend; at Associated Bank at 715 W. Paradise Dr.; and at West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce at 304 S. Main St.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
