Events & Festivals

Your guide to the 2023 Locust Street Festival

Radio Milwaukee | By Brett Krzykowski

Published June 5, 2023 at 10:51 AM CDT

After a lot of hard work by the people who live and work in Riverwest, the Locust Street Festival is officially back this Sunday, June 11, bringing a four-year absence to an end.

If you want to get technical about it, the event begins at 11 a.m., when the first notes of the day start floating through the air. But the “real” start is the Locust Street Beer Run, which gets underway at 11:30 a.m.

A large group of people running underneath a starting-line banner in the street.

Events & Festivals

What it took to get the Locust Street Festival up and running again

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The 1.6-mile route through the streets of Riverwest takes you past four Lakefront Brewery beverage stops outside Nessun Dorma, Riverwest Pizza, Falcon Bowl and Seven Swans Creperie. The top male and female participants get awards, but really the whole thing feels like a win for everyone involved, especially the costumed individuals. If you’re taking part, you can pick up your race packet starting from 4-7 p.m. this Friday, June 9, at Black Husky Brewing or at the starting line located at the intersection of Booth and Locust streets on race day.

In addition to the run, there will be a variety of vendors serving up food, drinks and products from local businesses. Then there’s the music, which spans seven stages and doesn’t wrap up until after the sun goes down. You can check out the full lineup below, and visit the Locust Street Festival website and Facebook page for more information and updates throughout the week.