West Allis' Kegel’s Inn, which canceled its annual august Oktoberfest at its beer garden, will instead host Oktoberfest on the Lake, Sept. 24-26 at Fitch Plaza atop the War Memorial Center, 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.
The event – with live music, food from Kegel’s Inn and German beer, as well as stellar lake and skyline views – will support the War Memorial Center, which will get a portion of the proceeds.
The fest will operate 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 and Friday Sept. 25, and on Saturday, Sept. 26, there will be two sessions, noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.
Masks will be required any time patrons are not at their table and there will be a 250-person limit to allow for social distancing o the 40,000-square-foot outdoor terrace.
"We are excited to host this fundraising event at the War Memorial this year," said Kegel's owner Julian Kegel. "After we decided to cancel our August Oktoberfest event in West Allis, we immediately began searching for a safe way to continue our Oktoberfest tradition.
"We are happy to partner with the War Memorial and celebrate Milwaukee’s history and heritage in a safe, socially-distanced manner in at this spectacular outdoor space."
The only way to guarantee admission to the event is to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $48 per person and include admission, on-site parking, a half-liter beer, a soft pretzel and a donation to the War Memorial Center.
Tickets also come with free admission to the War Memorial Center’s new exhibit, "On the Homefront," which explores Milwaukee' contribution to the World War II effort.
A limited-edition holiday ornament available for purchase.
Austrian Express performs on Thursday and Copper Box plays Friday. Blaskapelle Milwaukee will perform at both sessions on Saturday.
"It would not be fall without Kegel’s hosting an Oktoberfest," said Kegel. "While the scenery has changed this year, we hope that people will come out to the War Memorial and safely celebrate with us."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He can be heard weekly on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories.
