Brat Fest, which bills itself as "World's Largest

Brat Brat, Brats, The Brat or similar may refer to: Term for young people * Spoiled child * Military brat ** Military brat (U.S. subculture) * Trenchard Brat, a nickname for aircraft apprentices in the British Royal Air Force Films * ''The Br ...

Fest", is an annual fundraiser held in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. The event has been held every

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend since 1983, when it was launched by Tom Metcalfe, an area businessman who owned the Hilldale Mall location of

Sentry Foods Sentry Foods is a grocery store chain with a total of 11 stores, all in Wisconsin. Sentry Foods stores got their start in the Milwaukee area in the 1960s, being operated and supplied by the Godfrey family. In the mid-1980s, Fleming Companies, ...

in Madison. Initially held in the parking lot in front of the Metcalfe's Sentry store, the event was intended as a customer appreciation event for those who shopped there, but soon evolved into a fundraiser for local charities.

Bratwurst Bratwurst () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German ''Brätwurst'', from ''brät-'', finely chopped meat, and ''Wurst'', sausage, although in modern German it is o ...

, hot dogs, and soft drinks are served at the festival. Tom Metcalfe's sons, Tim and Kevin, are now coordinators for the event. During the 2011 Wisconsin protests, it was made public that the main sponsor of Bratfest,

Johnsonville Foods Johnsonville is a sausage company headquartered in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. Founded in 1945, by Ralph and Alice Stayer, when they opened a butcher shop and named it after their hometown community of Johnsonville, Wisconsin, it is one of the largest ...

, sent large contributions towards the election of the Republican Governor Scott Walker. This led to calls to boycott the festival, as well as the formation of several small left-wing alternative brat fests, including The People's Bratfest and The Wurst Times festival.

Overview

* Many non-profit groups donate grillers and servers. Local celebrities and politicians volunteer time as servers during the event. Past servers have included Wisconsin Governor

Jim Doyle James Edward Doyle, Jr., (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he defeated incu ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin Stat ...

. * In 2005, Brat Fest was relocated from its

Hilldale Shopping Center Hilldale Shopping Center, or simply Hilldale, is a partially enclosed shopping mall/lifestyle center development on the west side of Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Originally opened in October 1962, Hilldale has four anchor stores - Macy's, Ta ...

location, which had grown too small for the crowds, to Willow Island at the

Alliant Energy Center Alliant Energy Center (formerly Dane County Coliseum) is a multi-building complex located in unincorporated Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises of greenspace and includes the Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Willow ...

. * For many years, the Brat Fest was held over both the

and

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekends. After the move to the Willow Island site, organizers decided to hold the event only on Memorial Day weekend, to minimize expenses. * In 2006, two filmmakers,

Benjamin Lamb Benjamin Lamb (fl. 1715) was an English organist. He was the son of Captain Benjamin Lamb, one of the Poor Knights of Windsor, and followed his elder brother William into the choir of St George's Chapel on 24 November 1683. He was the organist ...

and

Vernon Johnson Vernon E. Johnson (August 23, 1920 – April 30, 1999) was an Episcopal priest and recovering alcoholic who devoted his life to a claimed method of alcohol intervention. Johnson's main achievements lie in the field of treatment of chemical depend ...

, created a documentary film honoring Brat Fest. Released on July 15, 2006, the film contained interviews with Governor

, Brat Fest Organizer Tim Metcalfe, Kevin Metcalfe and the wife of Tom Metcalfe. * In 2009, 208,752 brats were consumed during the 2009 festivities, which is believed to be a world record for single festival over a four-day period. * In 2010, Brat Fest set a new "self-proclaimed" world record by selling 209,376 brats during the four-day festival. * In 2011, the festival was chosen by ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' magazine as one of the top 50 festivals in the U.S. * In 2012, Brat Fest was again recognized by ''Parade'' magazine as one of the top festivals in the U.S. * In 2015, Brat Fest featured four music stages with 100 bands performing, including

Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his numb ...

and

Bret Michaels Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...

. * In 2020, the Brat Fest was scrapped as officials cited the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

as grounds for cancellation.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 43, 02, 58, N, 89, 22, 47, W, type:event_region:US-WI, display=title Festivals in Wisconsin Culture of Madison, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Madison, Wisconsin