Summer Festivals in Wisconsin

There are a couple of surprises in Wisconsin's summer festivals. Even if you sum up everything you think you know about the state, the two "B"s, the bear and the Bastille, might throw you for a loop. But don't worry, they haven't neglected the cheese.

At the Morel Mushroom Festival in Muscoda, May 19^th and 20^th, you can sell or buy the tasty fungi, either uncooked or fried up as God intended. Arts and crafts, The Silver Dollar Show Carnival, live entertainment, and inflatable bouncers are all on site, along with fireworks at Riverside Park over the Wisconsin River. If you do any growing, you can enter the mushroom contests for biggest, smallest, the most in a cluster, and the most unique. Find out more about the festival that honors the mushroom at http://www.muscoda.com/event_morels_07.html

Ah, it's the cheese. The Dairyfest in Marshfield, happening this year from June 1 - 3, 2007 pays tribute to Wisconsin's thriving dairy industry. Over one hundred vendors, with arts and crafts and other merchandise for the shopper in all of us, live entertainment, games for the kids, a parade, and beer gardens are open for the duration. There are also special events, like the Mayor's Breakfast, a picnic in the park, a pie and ice cream social, and on Sunday morning, an ecumenical service in the World's Largest Round Barn. Find out more about the events happening during the Dairyfest here.

When you are shopping for summer birthday gifts, don't forget one for Yogi. Yogi Bear's Surprise Birthday Party Week takes place at the Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Lake Delton, June 22^nd through 28^th. Throughout the week, there is free cake and ice cream, a birthday carnival, juggling, unicycle riding, pony rides, a petting zoo, a pool party, and a birthday dance. This is a great time for the kids. Find out more at http://www.dellsjellystone.com/index/events

Milwaukee's Summerfest is the world's largest music festival. It takes place at Henry Maier Festival Park, June 28^th through July 8^th, along the Lake Michigan shore. Up-and-comers and local musicians join superstars on ten stages throughout the grounds. The Marcus Amphitheater houses the main stage, and headliners this year include Def Leppard, The Fray, John Mayer, Bon Jovi, and Toby Keith. To find out more about the performers, and buy tickets, go to the website at http://www.summerfest.com/index.html

Want to see some truly unique off-the-canvas art? You can find it at Chalk It Up Wausau in

Wausau, WI, from July 6 - 8. Everyone is invited to participate in creating chalk art drawings right on The City Square. Featured artists will include Michael Kirby and Sixtus Wietrzychowski, renowned for their street art in cities around the world.

Can't make it to Paris this summer? Then head to Milwaukee to celebrate Bastille Days, July 12^th through 15^th. For four days, Cathedral Square Park and the surrounding streets are transformed into a Parisian neighborhood, with sidewalk cafes, wine bistros, can-can and cabaret. A forty-three foot Eiffel Tower stands over the festivities. Bastille Days is the largest French festival in the United States. With exhibitions featuring fashion, food, music, and a reenactment of the storming of the Bastille, you'll be transported right out of this country. If you'd like to know more, check it out here.