When it kicks off Friday, June 13 at Milwaukee Art Museum, the Lakefront Festival of Art will officially be celebrating its 60th anniversary.
The three-day festival has been a highlight of the great Milwaukee summer for more than half a century, with burgeoning and established artists showing their work, plus live music, family fun, food, beverages and more.
The festival expands this year with 30 more booths than last year, bringing the total to 145. Expect paintings, prints, ceramics, sculptures, photographs and more from across the country.
The event – a fundraiser for Friends of Art, which supports Milwaukee Art Museum – will include performances by Evan Christian, Danceworks, Known Moon, Zach Pietrini Band, Chris Haise Band and Maximiano, a chalk mural created onsite by Jamie and Craig Rogers, a kids dance party with Radio Milwaukee’s Dori Zori and other activations.
This year’s festival takes place during Father’s Day weekend and the Kohl’s Art Studio will be on hand for kids – and parents – to create their own art.
Food vendors will include local favorites like Pete’s Pops, BelAir Cantina and others. There will also be a Father’s Day beer tasting.
There will also be a silent auction, a drop-in tour on Saturday and a Lakefront Festival of Art boutique.
“We’re excited to celebrate 60 years of art on the lakefront, along with live music and fun as the summer festival season kicks off,” said Milwaukee Art Museum Chief Experience Officer Scott Schwebel.
“I’m thrilled we can mark this anniversary with more activities and artists for all to enjoy.”
The festival is open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and until 7 p.m. on Friday.
Tickets – which include admission to the museum and the special show, “The Brilliance of the Spanish World: El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán and Erin Shirreff: Permanent Drafts” – is $27 ($22 in advance online), $10 for members (member kids under 18 are free), seniors 65 and up, students and military are $20, kids 12 and under and Wisconsin K-12 teachers with I.D. get in free. A three-day pass is $45, $40 in advance online.
For more information about Lakefront Festival of Art, visit mam.org/lfoa.
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.
