24 October 2010 LeisureGroupTravel.com

on location: midwest � nadia beidas

Wisconsin fo

Think America’s Dairyland andimages of cows and cheese in-

evitably come to mind. So do soft bunswrapped around fat, juicy bratwursts.Wisconsin has a reputation for satisfy-ing travelers’ appetites with foods freshfrom the farm, the orchard, the bog andthe woods.

Group itineraries that incorporate afood festival add an extra helping of ap-preciation for the state’s cornucopia ofgood things to eat. Below is a samplingof food fests throughout the state:

Green County Cheese Days inMonroe, located about an hour south ofMadison, is held in even years during

the third weekend in September. Dat-ing from 1914, the food festival honorsWisconsin’s cheese industry, dairy farm-ing and the region’s Swiss traditions.Entertainment includes yodeling, polkabands, polka lessons and the “So YouThink You Can Polka” polka contest.Guests also enjoy yodeling lessons,

The Warrens Cranberry Festival, attracting nearly 100,000 people the last full weekend in September, offers cranberry marsh tours.

Music, crafts and culinary specialties await group travelers at small-town

events that showcase the best of the Badger State

cheese and beer pairing seminars, andproduct sampling from Monroe-basedSwiss Colony, plus rock and bluesmusic. The festival features a cow-milk-ing contest, old-time copper kettlecheese-making demonstration, vintagetractor show, children’s parade led by aCheese Days prince and princess, dairyfarm and the Swiss Colony CheeseDays Parade, led by a decorated herd ofBrown Swiss cattle. Culinary delights atthe food booths include deep-friedcheese curds, cream puffs and cheese-cake on a stick. (608-325-7771, cheese-days.com)

The Stone Lake Cranberry Festi-val, which began in 1978, is held everyyear on the first Saturday in October inStone Lake. Reserve a luncheon in ad-vance and feast on such delights ascranberry cake on the Friday before thefestival. Hop on a bus from the festivaland take a cranberry marsh tour at har-vest time. The Cranberry Festival Pa-rade features high school bands andfloats, and the Crate Derby follows. The

Bake-Off has two divisions—junior forcontestants under 17 and senior forthose over 18. Cranberry baked goodsare divided into four categories: breads& muffins, cookies & bars, desserts &cakes, and pies. There are over 300craftspeople, a flea market, farmer’smarket and pancake breakfast hosted bythe local fire department. (stonelake-cranberryfestival.com)

The Sweet Corn Festival in SunPrairie began in 1953 and served about13,000 ears of corn. Today about100,000 people attend the four-day fes-tival, usually held in August. Almost 70tons of sweet corn are cooked in a boilerand five retorts, which is similar to a ricesteamer but ten feet deep and three feetacross. Inside each retort are four castiron baskets holding about 450 ears ofcorn, and each basket weighs around

400 pounds. A retort cooks one ton ofcorn every 17 minutes. The festival fea-tures family activities, stage shows, mu-sical entertainment, mini-golf, a craftshow and parade. (608-837-4547, sun-prairiechamber.com)

In Sheboygan, Brat Days is heldevery year around August. Attendeescan taste bratwurst in many forms witha variety of sauces such as hot garlic orteriyaki. Also try brat lasagna and bratjambalaya. The festival offers a brat eat-ing contest, family area, carnival, paradeand marketplace. (920-207-6606, brat-days.org)

The Strawberry Festival is held inCedarburg on the fourth full weekendin June. Strawberry culinary delightsinclude the “original” strawberry brat,strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie,strawberry crepes, strawberry slush,chocolate-covered strawberries, straw-berry ice cream and strawberry blushwine. There is a strawberry pie and sun-dae eating contest. The StrawberryPancake Breakfast on Sunday is ac-

LeisureGroupTravel.com October 2010 25

od festivals

Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival

(left) and Festa Italia (above) are

popular food fetes in Madison.

The Sweet Corn Festival takes place

in nearby Sun Prairie.Jerr

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R.J.

and

Lind

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iller

companied by live, outdoor music.Berries are also sold in quarts. The fes-tival’s Arts on the Avenue includesCedarburg Cultural Center’s Fine ArtFair, Cedar Creek Settlement’s ArtsFair and Ozaukee Art Center’s FineArt Fair. (888-894-4001, cedarburgfes-tivals.org/strawberryfestival.

Taste delicious mushrooms at theMorel Mushroom Festival, held theweekend after Mother’s Day in Mus-coda. The festival also offers wine tast-ing, a parade, arts and crafts, flea marketand carnival. (608-739-3182, mus-coda.com)

Visit the “Home of the Hamburger”in Seymour and attend HamburgerFest and Balloon Rally. Held in Au-gust, the festival honors Charles Na-green, who, according to legend,invented the hamburger and served thefirst one in 1885. See the 14-foot statueof “Hamburger Charlie.” Events in-clude the World’s Largest HamburgerParade, the ketchup slide, burger pressand hamburger eating contest. There arehot air balloons, music and games. (920-833-6688, homeofthehamburger.org)

The Bayfield Apple Festival in Bay-

field, gateway to the Apostle IslandsNational Lakeshore, offers over 60 orchard and food booths. Held in early October, the festival features or-chard visits, 150 artists and crafters, aparade, stage entertainment, a fish boil,carnival rides and an evening boat pa-

rade. Festivities also include applepie/dessert and apple peeling contests.Listed among the Top Ten AutumnFestivals in North America by the So-ciety of American Travel Writers, theevent attracts 50,000 people.(800-447-4094, bayfield.org)

on location: midwest �

26 October 2010 LeisureGroupTravel.com

The ketchup slide is a slick event at the Hamburger Fest and Balloon Rally, an August celebration in Seymour.

June’s Strawberry Festival in Cedarburg offers a fresh taste of summer.

R.J.

& L

inda

Mill

er

LeisureGroupTravel.com June 2008 27

Lake Geneva Wine Festival, heldin September since 2007, is a culturalevent to support local nonprofit or-ganizations. Events include samplingseminars such as “Seminar: Wine 101,”which focuses on the grapes involvedin wine-making, pairings with foodand the difference between a $5

and $50 bottle of wine. In “Seminar:Wine Sense, A Blind Tasting,” participants are taughtthe difference betweengrapes and vintages.During “Grand Tast-ing,” wines are pairedwith food samples

from local restaurants. There are culi-nary demonstrations, raffles andsilent auctions. (262-245-8635, lake-genevawinefestival.com)

An advance look at Wisconsin’stravel events calendar will provide akettle full of ideas for working in otherfestivals that spotlight the agriculturalbounty of this popular Midwesterngetaway spot. LGT

Navy Pier is Chicago’s top-visited, year-round attraction, featuring restaurants, rides, shops,

dining cruises, free entertainment and so much more!

November 5-7

The world’s foremost art fair ofpost-craft masterworks bridging

design, decorative andfine art.

LeisureGroupTravel.com October 2010 27

Obtain Wisconsin

visitor guides

and itineraries –

and contact group-

friendly suppliers

directly – at

leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

For a look at additional Wisconsin food festivals

that may captivate your tour groups, see the article on

Leisure Group Travel’s website. Log on to http://leisure-

grouptravel.com/?p=20344.

Summer festivals in Wisconsin feature mouth-watering fruits of the season.