Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will tap the first keg at the first-ever Milwaukee Oktoberfest to be held on the plaza outside the Fiserv Forum on Friday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m.
Though the Downtown Oktoberfest celebration is nearly a decade old, it now moves from a variety of previous locations to the brand spankin' new Fiserv Forum live block plaza on North Vel Phillips Avenue, between Highland and Juneau Avenues.
The event, which runs through 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7 is free and open to the public and includes a brat-eating contest, live polka music, a stein-hoisting competition, a wiener dog contest, a Miss Oktoberfest competition, a cornhole tourney and music by The Klaberheads and The Mike Schneider Band.
Head over to Westown this week so that you can beer the deer out on the plaza for the very first time.
The event will take place from 5 until 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5; 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7.
For more information, visit milwaukeeoktoberfest.com.
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.
