More than 200 juried artists from around the country are setting up shop along Broadway this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5 and 6, as the Historic Third Ward hosts its 14th annual Third Ward Art Festival. The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, is free and open to the public, and welcomes all ages, according to organizers.
This year's edition marks the festival's 14th run, produced by Amdur Productions in partnership with the Historic Third Ward Association. As reported by OnMilwaukee, artists will line the street, many hosting demonstrations and chats in their booths throughout the weekend. Amdur Productions, founded by Amy Amdur, who is its CEO, produces juried fine-art and craft festivals across the Midwest, including the Gold Coast Art Fair and Port Clinton Art Festival, giving the Third Ward event a well-tested organizational backbone.
The festival also offers programming beyond the artists' booths. A dedicated Kid Friendly Art Tent invites children in to learn art-making techniques firsthand, alongside face painting and live music, per the same OnMilwaukee report.
A Neighborhood Built for Wandering
The festival unfolds inside a National Historic District with a history of reinvention. The Historic Third Ward was designated a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Great Third Ward Fire of October 28, 1892, destroyed 16 city blocks and 440 buildings, according to Urban Milwaukee. The neighborhood has since been transformed, and festivalgoers will wander between art booths this weekend.
Festivalgoers can also take in the neighborhood's historic buildings between visits to the booths.
Getting There and Getting Around
Festivalgoers can reach the Third Ward, and drivers have options too: easy, close parking is available. More information on the festival is available at historicthirdward.org.
Part of a Bigger Push for Public Art
The Labor Day weekend gathering joins other public art investments in the district this year. Earlier this summer, the Historic Third Ward Association staged the inaugural Moon Festival, which brought Luke Jerram's 23-foot illuminated Museum of the Moon sculpture to the neighborhood Aug. 7 through 9.
Taken together, the festival and public-space upgrades are among the neighborhood's latest developments.
