The 41st annual BockBier Fest returns to Okauchee Lions Park on Saturday, April 29 with beer, food, music and more.
The event starts at noon with the traditional Blessing of the Bock, a tapping of a keg on Maibock and free beer, as well as a musical fanfare and the procession of the Spielmannszug, announcing the 2023 blessing.
The beer to be tapped is a wooden keg of Hofbräu München will be tapped, with free samples for as long as it lasts.
There will be Schuhplattler performances by D’Oberlander dance club, including the famous Maitanz, in which dancers weave ribbons around a Maypole, as well as music by Spielmannszug Milwaukee Drum and Bugle Corps and by the Midwest’s largest German brass band as the Freistadt Alte Kameraden and Blaskapelle Milwaukee join forces.
There will be a stein-holding contest and the crowning of the BockBierFest king and queen, a playground for kids and more.
Enjoy Hofbräu Munich beers, wine, soft drinks, Usinger’s brats and hot dogs and herring sandwiches!
The event, which runs until 9 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Spielmannszug Milwaukee club, which used to hold the event at Wauwatosa’s Hart Park before moving it out to Okauchee two years ago.
It is held in a heated pavilion.
For more information, including a full menu, detailed schedule and more, visit bockbierfest.org and szmke.org.
Doors to the rain or shine event open at 11:30 a.m.
Bavarian Bierhaus in Glendale is also hosting a Maibock Celebration, with live music by The Britins (9 p.m.) and the Polka Kings (2 p.m.), on Saturday, April 22. There will be a free keg tapping at 3:30 p.m. and a stein-holding contest at 4. Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the door. More here.
The Riverwest Blessing of the Bock, held for the past 30-plus years at Falcon Bowl, is slated for April 23. More on that here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
