I attended the inaugural Eaux Claires Festival, curated by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and it has…read morealready earned it spot as an annual must-do event in my book. It was affordable (~$90 for 2 full days), and within a good driving range where you feel like you're embarking out of the Twin Cities, but you're not really going too far. It's a fun state of mind that's easy on the mileage. I'll get right to the point. My favorite sets: Bon Iver, Sylvan Esso, Policia, Doomtree, Lizzo. There were plenty of porta potties, which were also kept clean and stocked. The scenery was just dreamy - rolling hills, trails through the trees, light-up color-changing forests, and cool art installations. Depending on the times of the sets, I was able to grab drinks at the right time without crazy lines. I loved the local artists and stores that were in the "village" there. I think each of my friends and I ended up buying something. Some cons though: the food, or lack there of. There was like 20,000 people and like 10 vendors. Lots of people waited in lines over an hour long, only for the vendors to run out of food. A lot of the merch sold out quick too. And the crowd leaving at the end of the last set was not managed well, because thousands of people were forced down this one narrow roped off path.

Improvements The first of hopefully many Eaux Claires…read morefestivals, they definitely had some kinks to work out. The first night food ran out and wait lines were 20 minutes or more. Water stations were spaced throughout but only in the main areas and not in the second staging area by the Dells. With some miscommunication on what could be brought into the campsites and festival, lots of folks had to throw out glass bottles and blankets. I hope the communication around camp ground and festival rules is made clear next time. Positives The music itself however was phenomenal. It was amazing having so many folks in one space and a wide variety of music at that. My favorites were Bon Iver, Lizzo, Poliçia, The Staves, and Charles Bradley. I loved the collaborations and how many folks were new to the music festival scene. The bathrooms were also kept extremely clean with the company cleaning bathrooms out at least once a day. A saving grace given the reputation most port-a-potties have. Art installations! Who knew how great they would go with music. Well...the organizers did. It was amazing that the shirt printing was done in Eau Claire and a lot of the artists were Midwest based. I almost wished there had been more art. It was great to see visuals while waiting for the next set to begin. I hope they bring this back for next year. Overall a great lineup and festival. Will attend again if planned.

It's the fair. I've been coming here since I was a kid. I love it. Parking is a bit challenging. If…read moreyou don't get there early, but we always make it work. Free admission for veterans and Retired military with ID. always all the animal bars. Cheese curds, french fries, funnel cakes. They always get such awesome musical talent here. The trick there is buy your tickets in November when they first come out. Much cheaper. We saw foreigner last night. I think my tickets are $25. That was such a good van. Styx two years ago, Joan Jett, The Beach Boys, blue oyster cult.

This review covers the Fairgrounds, rather than the Fair itself…read more We were here for Oktoberfest, and we appreciated the cleanliness and spaciousness of the grounds themselves. The layout is sensible and manageable. The facilities and walkways were in good, working condition. Many people were there, but it never felt crowded. People were nice to us as well. Oktoberfest itself is worth going to at least once, especially if you like cheese curds, pretzels, beer, people butchering the German language and culture (j/k!), and music. As for the Fair, whooooo, I'd rather not get in the middle of that gang war between the Northern Wisconsin State Fair (Chippewa Falls) and the (implied Southern) Wisconsin State Fair (Milwaukee/West Allis), no siree!

My Gosh!!!! Travelled from Tucson to Warrens, Wi to check…read moreout this cranberry festival. What fun...so much food, crafts and anything cranberries you'll find that you just can't "live without". A whole lot of Badgers and Packers paraphernalia. Buy you a shirt , pot holders and other souvenirs here cuz your local Walmart ain't gonna have it. TIP. Come early it starts at 7 Parking on the road is free along the 2 lane highway, already has cars lined up to get in, bring cash, vendors do take cards but some have surcharge...they do have ATM., wear comfy shoes lotsa walking. Gotta take a picture with rubber waders/bibs for $10

What an event 14500 people in a town of normally under 600. Miles of food crafts and STUFF…read more prepare to walk and bring a wagon or backpack, you will find something"s" to buy. Visit the craft/handmade area for items you dont see else where. Make sure to book as close to 1 yr ahead as possible rooms are at a premium, and be ready for more than 1 day to see everything. There are ALOT of "girls weekend out" groups shopping, shopping and more shopping. One of the few issues is finding a specific vendor or item, the maps are hard to follow if you are looking for a booth number or vendor by name. You will pay to park but there are constant shuttles for you and your stuff. They have over 800 Arts & Crafts booths, 300 Flea & Antique booths, 100 Farm Market booths, and food food and food, (the whole thing is bigger than some state fair's) I recommend you give it a try

What a neat place. Admission into this light display is a donation of food or money for food…read morepanties in the area. I love the light display. We choose to walk which was cool but, you can not get to all the lights. Next time we will have to do the driving experience to see some of the things we missed. It would be cool if the path had arrows to follow as it's kind of a free for all. It was hard with so many ppl there, and they were stopping and don't keep moving or walk at you and wont move. They should have lanes to make the experience more jolly! Awesome idea for an awesome cause though

We heard about the Rotary Winter Wonderland Christmas light display both in the media and from…read morepeople we know. This is the sixth season. We learned that they how have over 1 million lights covering a big part of the Wildwood Zoo in Marshfield. It started this year in mid November. New Year's Eve is the last night. We decided to check it out. The part of me that has seen some artful light displays says give it 4 stars. That's because some parts of the display consist of some decorated trees. And some displays are fairly static and two dimensional. But the explosion and variety of lights over a large area is impressive. Some displays are fun and whimsical. A few are quite dynamic. We noticed that one zoo animal was pacing its cage: the mountain lion. So the kid in me says: Five Stars! This is a nonprofit event. Attendees are asked to bring some nonperishable items for the local food shelves.

Me and two other of my friends went to country jam. My boyfriend and I won VIP tickets and got…read morewristbands for all three days. The last day was Justin Lynch (one of my favorite artists). My wristband fell off half way through his set, a security guard came up and asked for my wrist band, I showed him my wrist and he said "come with me", I noticed my wristband fell off and told him it did and said it was probably sitting right next to where I was standing (which was 10 ft away) he then said "no it isn't" I kept talking saying that I was being honest and if he checks and it is not there then whatever but he instead escorted me out and flashed another security guard saying "this is another one". Both of my friends got escorted out the other two nights for things they did not do. I am not impressed.

I have attended country jam about 5 times and let me tell you its really been going down hill…read more 1. They dont keep up-to-date acts and if they do they only book 1 or 2 of them and the other head liners are should playing around 7pm. 2. They give away a lot of free tickets when you purchase a case of beer so DO NOT go one of these days because it will be extremely Packed (One year it was so full people were sitting and standing around the vendor) 3. You have to pay $5.00 to park when you have to walk literally a half mile to get to the concert area. 4. This is more of a laid back adult country concert and less of a party. This is still a really good concert but if your looking for a better party, acts, parking, and less crowed i would attend Country Fest.

This is a weekly street festival in downtown Rochester (1st Avenue Southwest - 3rd Street Southwest…read more- Peace Plaza) held every Thursdays during the summer. Many street vendors, restaurants including hard to find ethnic restaurants, like a Malaysian food stall, and live bands at two stages. Maybe one of the most lively events in this "Med City" and so recommended to attend.

We stumbled on this event when walking from our hotel to find a dinner location. It was a great…read moresurprise. We enjoyed the street vendors as well as getting to enjoy the outdoors. Live music was a great mix with both soft rock and jazz playing at different areas. Lots of people and dogs enjoying the beautiful evening. Lots of variety in food and good vendors. We really enjoyed being able to walk around with an alcoholic beverage and enjoy everyone around us. We will be booking our next visit on a Thursday so we can enjoy again. Fun event and use of downtown area.

Eau Claire, Wi. The…read moreBlue Ox people really do a good job attracting top of the line talent and organizing the number of festivarians in a streamlined fashion. They even handle the intense rain storms fairly well. This festival is geared toward making money from reserved camping. It appears that some of these reserved entry people forego their reserved spot and head off to the unreserved sections and rope off an acre of land, denying later participants a chance at any of those sites. The reward for reserving is an entry a day early so you aren't scrambling for a good camp site. The fee for a pre pitched tent is an astounding $1900! I'm one of the common folk who enter with the masses on Thursday. The first thing I noticed after staking a claim to a small parcel of real estate is the huge number of smoldering campfires. Everyone seems to be burning smoky wet wood. The family camp area has the most unhealthy air throughout the festival, and these folks are inviting their children to inhale this crap. Half of the people here smoke cigarettes even in the concert areas. They have no clue or don't care about the affect on others. Of course the butts end up on the grass. There is a designated line for lawn chairs, as In don't go beyond this line. This means nothing, people just plop their chairs down right in front of you even if you're on the line. Why no pizza this year Blue Ox? Porta potties are kept clean throughout the festival. Sound is good except when singers belt out a loud burst and over drive the speakers. If the smoke was not such issue I'd give this festival a 4.5.

This is by far the best music festival I have ever been to in Wisconsin. The staff is great, the…read moregrounds are kept immaculate, the Porta potty's are cleaned three times a day every day!! (Even in the middle of torrential downpours they are out cleaning!) Everyone that comes here is of the same mindset, enjoy some bluegrass - spend time in the woods- And overall be really good to one another. The tickets might be considered a bit pricey compared to other festivals, but the way it's put together is by far worth every penny!