PROST! Das Fest Wisconsin is coming to Kenosha County
Break out the lederhosen, don your best dirndl, and get ready to roll out the barrel! PROST! Das Fest Wisconsin is coming to the Kenosha County Fairgrounds July 18-20, 2025. The popular German festival billed as the ultimate Oktoberfest preparty expects to see an attendance of more than 35,000 over three days.
PROST! Das Fest Wisconsin features German and American bands, ethnic dance groups, German beer and wine, stein hoisting competitions, Bingo, a carnival, shops, German food including the famous Mader’s Restaurant, and a magnitude of happy times for all ages. A popular daily attraction is the Little Leg Races where 300 Dachshunds and Corgis compete for the top dog in 55-yard sprints.
Over the past four years, Das Fest has raised thousands of dollars for local charities and has been held at the Walworth County Fairgrounds in Elkhorn, Wisconsin and at the iconic Bavarian Bierhaus in Glendale, Wisconsin. Following a visit to the Kenosha County Fairgrounds, the festival was blown away with the site and decided to bring the fest to Kenosha County with the goal of making Kenosha its new and permanent home.
“What we love about the Kenosha County Fairgrounds is the fantastic infrastructure and our ability to grow and implement some really exciting additions to the fest,” said Tammy Dunn, Das Fest Director. New for 2025, profits from Das Fest will support multiple nonprofit organizations in a tri-county region including Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties. “The reason Das Fest began was to give back to the community,” Dunn said, “as we like to say we are ‘Prosting for Charity’, and we can’t wait to see everyone again in July.”
The Kenosha County Fairgrounds are located at 30820 111th Street in Wilmot, Wisconsin. For more information you can follow the event on Facebook at Das Fest Wisconsin, visit dasfestwi.com, or call 262-613-3377.
22 Responses
NO! Flea market was there first!!
no one cares
So how will this “New” addition to the local community entertainment options affect the long running Old Settlers (Park) Oktoberfest in Paddock Lake in October ??
I’m hoping it will not !
But it is curious, with the supposed rumored “take over” of the Paddock Lake event by the County, (which couldn’t make it happen this year) why they did this ??
Anyone from the Old Settlers Oktoberfest group willing to chime in ?
https://www.facebook.com/p/Old-Settlers-Oktoberfest-100066804524565/
The County’s Public Works Department is in complete turmoil. Unsurprising that they couldn’t make it happen. DPW Director is a disaster in disguise, she’s nowhere near qualified for the job. Just wait until she’s spending $3-4 MILLION to implement brine on the winter roads.
just how does liquid brine work ?
How does a liquid, once dried on the pavement, then doesn’t wash off once the snow and ice water melt ?
How is brine better ?
It’s not superior. It’s worse in every possible way. Last January, when Kenosha county wasn’t dealing with much—if any—hard pack, the counties who use brine were working 24/7 to try to deal with significant hard pack issues. Brine is terrible on vehicles, much worse than regular salt. It does a much worse job than salt, and it’s much more expensive, especially the upfront costs. County roads are in better shape than city roads because the city uses brine and the county does not. In a county whose residents expect every single snowflake to be removed from the road as they fall, brine is going to be a shock & disappointment.
Wasn’t this article about something positive coming to kenosha county like a festival?
Right?🤣
Wasn’t this an article about something positive like a festival coming to kenosha county?
Right?🤣
Wasn’t this article about something positive like a festival in kenosha county?
Brine is the most useless sh*t, but hey the tree-huggers want it so let’s abide by their every command and let the rest of us die in crashes.
Call & tell your county supervisor you feel this way. Crush these plans before DPW Director starts her spending spree to implement this disaster.
Right?1🤣
This says its in July. The Paddock Lake one is usually in September.
Wasn’t this an article about something positive like a festival coming to kenosha county?
Don’t you find it Curious that right after the County takes over a festival / event that was put on by a somewhat private organization, then fails to put it on, that they find a almost identical event to put on, in a different location ?
Explain exactly why the county took over Old Settlers Oktoberfest, then didn’t do it ?
Old Settlers Oktoberfest was run by a very small group of ladies with a TON of dedicated volunteers & amazing sponsors and the help of Kenosha County Parks over the years, it was time for the ladies to retire after over a decade of organizing all the moving parts it takes to have a festival this successful. It was turned over to another small group of volunteers who wanted to keep it going but were unable to devote the time it takes to host it. It was NEVER being taken over by the county and no help was offered by the Village of Paddock Lake. Kenosha County Parks every year put in a ton of work for this festival it was a huge lift for them with all they did, and it was a huge volunteer undertaking by the ladies who organized it. The beautiful band shell was finally built with all the money raised by the Old Settlers Park Oktoberfest. The good news is that two other German Festivals are coming to the area next year. Das Fest will be held in summer at the Kenosha County Fair grounds and Hansen Park in Bristol will be hosting a two-day Oktoberfest in September.
that Old Settlers Oktoberfest is No More ??
“we fully expect to bring Oktoberfest back the 2nd Saturday of September, 2025 and ever year thereafter to the levels we are all used to having.”
Dedra Mathis
So will it happen or not ??
I hope the same people who ruined the Bristol Days aren’t the ones putting on Bristol’s Oktoberfest…if so it’ll be a disaster.
This is awesome thing for the small town of Wilmot!! Thanks for this article about it Kevin!!