Large festival honoring the cheese history in Green county Wi. Every even year on the 3rd weekend…read morein September.Hundreds of people from around Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Fried cheese curds, Swiss entertainers, large parade . Good family fun.

Monroe Cheese Days, how to describe it for someone who's never been? It's a festival celebrating…read moreMonroe's claim to fame: cheese. More specifically, locally made cheese and limburger cheese. Local beer is a big part of it too, but that's not the star of the show (and for good reason because Minhas brews are less than good). There's live music, most of which is fantastic (pro tip: check out the beer tent down by Minhas, that's where you'll find some great music, especially later in the afternoon and evening). There are some fun Swiss cultural experiences to be had from the stage on the South side of the Square thanks to the Alphorn players, yodelers, and accordion players. As for food, the cheese curds are stupid good. Yes the line is long, and yes you should do it anyway. I only wish they'd offer an additional ticket where you have the option to pay an extra $.50-$1 to pair funky cheese sauces and aioli dips with your curds. These curds certainly don't need sauces, but it'd add to the whole foodie experience. A few notes for first-timers: -Get the cheese curds. You can't possibly participate in a Cheese Days celebration without eating these cheese curds. I promise they're the best you've ever had. -There are two beer areas: one surrounding the square, a second at the beer tent. The beer used to be restricted to beer tents only, now you can wander each respective area. -Music at the Beer tent is a must. -The beer stand on the square offers different brews than that at the Beer Tent down by Minhas, so try something from both areas. Don't expect to love the Minhas beer though. -Check out the hospitality tent ahead of time for events you want to participate in. They're free. I recommend the cheese and beer pairing class. It's lead by a Master Cheesemaker.

Best ever fireworks! Didn't get a chance to do any of the other activities but heard that Drag…read moreQueen Bingo was a big hit with great prizes.

Great food and family fun! It would be a tragedy if this were the last festival. It is really…read moreour city's crown jewel.

Great day for the festival. Games, tournaments, food and beverages. Even desserts featuring Sassy…read moreCow ice cream. Canoes and kayaks available to rent for a donation to the Maunesha River Alliance.

This is a great event for families and youngsters. So many educational exhibits and crafts and…read moreprojects the kids in 4-H put together. The food choices were great with everything from burgers to pitas, Thai food and BBQ. Being our first county fair we were afraid of the animal smells etc but the facilities were kept clean and relatively lacking strong odors. They had nice entertainment options like the BMX Pros Trick Team and some acrobats. All in all good clean fun! We arrived before 3 pm and admission was only $3. Plan on it for next year!

Was fun but many things are expensive, some of the prize games say $10 but I got charged like $42…read morefor two players. If you play with multiple people only one will win so it is a money grab. Workers are very nice and welcoming. I think the youth policy should be changed to 8pm, 7pm seems too early. We spent a lot of money and couldn't get back in, sucks but probably wouldn't buy an all day pass again unless we went in the morning.

Great strawberry picking & atmosphere. Delicious snacks and play area for kids. A great way to…read morespend a day!

Fantastic place! The staff is great and there's plenty of kiddo-type stuff to do…read more Expect to spend 1-2 hour in the corn maze, depending on your navigational skills and desire to walk briskly. ;) The concession stand is pretty good. The french fries are INCREDIBLE. Feel free to bring your own food too though - They're chill.

Everyone that has been to the Shitty Barn loves it and now I know why. Bring your favorite picnic…read morefood, grab a beer, place your folding chair in a line to the entrance in order of arrival, (simple and organized), then enjoy an intimate show with 80-100 others. Proof of vaccine or negative test required and masks on indoors. We saw the Ratboys and Wild Pink which were Excellent!! A true gem of a venue. Thank you to the owner for keeping this establishment open, supporting live music, and making folks in the area very happy. Just go.

The Shitty Barn is everything BUT a shitty barn! It's truly a magical venue for live music. Arrive…read moreearly to get a good seat, although there really isn't a bad seat in the barn. I recommend bringing a lawn chair to sit on. They do have a few stadium style seats on the right side but it's recommend to have your own. There is one thing I want to say, please be respectful and bring a small chair, there is limited seating and it's flat. I've been a few times and there is always someone with an obnoxiously oversized chair that makes it hard for people behind them to see. Before the show you can get delicious farm fresh food from Enos Farm. I look forward to their tacos every show! You can also enjoy a cold beer, or wine, but make sure to bring cash as its cash only and no ATM on site. We always have a great time and are loo forward to going back each year!

This past weekend I attended the Great Taste of the Midwest for the first time, and also…read moreparticipated in the Funk Factory Geuzeria Pre-Party. After having a blast at both events, I can say I won't be missing any future ones! Perfect weather in a large space of Olin Park in Madison, WI with nearly 200 breweries pouring almost 1400 beers. Many breweries have their brewers there pouring flagships and some of the rarest beers you can try.  Funk Factory Geuzeria Pre-Party | The biggest of the Great Taste Eve events is the FFG & Friends Pre-Party where Funk Factory and some of the greatest names in Mead and Beer pour beers you wouldn't be able to have on a normal basis. Some highlights for me: Won't You be my Neighbor by 1840 Brewing A Flanders Red packed with tart cherry flavors, oak tannins, and a malt reminiscent of fresh baked sourdough bread. IOWA8 by Funk Factory Single barrel Lambic spontaneously fermented for 2.5 years. Super complex tart, barnyard, and fruity notes. Sepulchral by Eighth State Brewing A Baklava inspired Imperial Stout with Ji-Roz Baklava, Toasted Walnuts, Roasted Pistachios, Brazilian Vanilla, and Cook's Island Vanilla. Tasted like liquid Baklava, but not syrupy or thick (appreciated). Great Taste of the Midwest | I tried MANY beers and it would be impossible to list them all (thanks Instagram word limit), but I will call out some of the highlights for me: Toppling Goliath Stouts (Assassin and Mornin Delight)  Two bucket list stouts. Mornin Delight tasted like a beautifully balanced mocha and Assassin had tons of bourbon / fudgy chocolate flavors. Revolution Straight Jacket (2018) One of the smoothest and most complex Barleywines I've ever had. Notes of stone fruit, toasted coconut, molasses, and vanilla. McFleshman's Brewing 10 Paces Kriek A Lambic aged in French Oak Cabernet barrels for 1-3 years referemented on a blend of tart and sweet cherries for 6 more months.  The Explorium Brewpub's Blueberry Cheesecake A Berliner Weisse with lactose, vanilla, toasted almonds, and late season Michigan blueberries that tastes exactly as you would hope - blueberry cheesecake. Alarmist Turbulent Dynamics Everything you could ever want in a Hopped Lager.

2018 was my first year attending the Great Taste of the Midwest, and I have to say it was quite an…read moreexperience that no craft beer lover should miss. For those that are not familiar, Great Taste of the Midwest is the second longest-running craft beer festival in North America. GTMW brings together over 190 brewers in a scenic location overlooking Lake Monona while providing some great views of downtown Madison and the state capital. Ticket sales can be challenging, as they are typically released the Sunday after Cinco De Mayo at select locations in Madison, however if you do not happen to live in or near Madison you can enter their mail order lottery for tickets. Should you be lucky enough to secure tickets you will encounter a massive selection of craft beer, great food, and fun entertainment. One of the best things about GTMW is that despite the size the festival never felt like it was too busy, lines were tolerable and I never seemed to wait more than 5 minutes max for a refill, although most brewers you could easily walk right up to without a wait. Most of the 190+ vendors are setup and spread out across 6 massive tents, with each holding anywhere from 20-40 brewers. In addition there are several larger brewers with their own smaller tents scattered around the festival too. My favorite tent/vendor had to be the 0.005K Endurance Run tend from New Holland Brewing Company, finally a race I can enjoy, lol. The food selection was good, however the highlight for me was the bacon on a stick, which was thick cut back served on a stick. Seriously it does not get much better than that. Food prices were very reasonable too. The entertainment was scattered around the 6+ tents, and seemed to lean more towards folk music which seemed to pair up nicely with the festival. Overall I enjoyed my time, and look forward to attending another Great Taste of the Midwest in the future.

I'm giving Oconomowoc Days a 3 star review…read more I'm glad the fine people of Oconomowoc woke up and realized they needed to bring the carnival back. Growing up, this was THE EVENT OF THE SUMMER! Why they ever stopped doing the carnival is beyond me. This year is the first year back, and even they admitted it needed some work. They had a TIlt-A-Whirl, along with some kiddie rides / attractions, and a fun house. OK, so that aspect would be about 1-2 stars. The rides were kind of lame. But on the plus side, you got an extra long Tilt-A-Whirl ride. My husband and I did the 5K on Saturday morning, and it left a little to be desired, until the guy in charge explained to us he only had about a month to put everything together. However, all proceeds went to the food pantry and to reinvigorate Champion Field. Hooray on that end! I like the family friendly 'ticket' program - instead of giving the carnies cash, you give them tickets for the game (Purchased at the tent) and they give you fake "Oconomowoc Days Dollars" that can be redeemed. Hokey, but it did work. They also used the tickets in the beer tent, so no pressure to tip the volunteer bar maids. They did offer live music and entertainment, which seemed to draw a lot of people. They also had a drawing to win a Harley. In my opinion, there were a few kinks that need to be worked out, but this was a good start. I hope they bring it back next year, but use the feedback they received to improve on it. Viva Oconomowoc Days!