Milwaukee was OUTSIDE this weekend! 😂
Garfield Days was back Saturday, September 12, near Garfield’s 502 at 502 W. Garfield Ave., and once again it brought people together for music, food, vendors and some good Milwaukee vibes.
And this is exactly the kind of stuff I like to see happening in our city.
People coming together.
People enjoying themselves.
Supporting vendors.
Listening to music.
Running into people they haven’t seen in forever.
And just having a GOOD TIME.
Because Milwaukee deserves to have these moments too.
Garfield Days Is a Milwaukee Tradition
If you’ve been in Milwaukee for a while, you already know Garfield Days isn’t something new.
Garfield Avenue has a long history of bringing Milwaukee’s Black community together through music, art, food and entertainment.
Over the years, the celebration has been associated with blues, jazz, gospel, local artists, vendors and neighborhood businesses.
For a lot of Milwaukee people, just hearing somebody say “Garfield Days” brings back memories.
And that’s what I love about events like this.
It’s not just about what’s happening right now.
It’s part of Milwaukee culture.
Sometimes We Just Need to Have FUN
We talk about a lot of serious things happening around Milwaukee.
Crime.
Businesses closing.
Neighborhood problems.
Things happening downtown.
And I’m not going to sugarcoat any of that.
But every Milwaukee story doesn’t have to be a bad story.
Sometimes the story is simply:
MILWAUKEE CAME OUT AND HAD A GOOD TIME!
😂
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating that.
Events like Garfield Days give people somewhere to come together, listen to music, grab something to eat, support local vendors and enjoy the city.
That’s the Milwaukee I want people outside of our city to see too.
Supporting Milwaukee Vendors Matters
One thing I especially love about neighborhood festivals is seeing local vendors and small businesses getting an opportunity to make some money.
Those dollars matter.
When you buy something from somebody’s table, grab some food from a local vendor or support somebody selling something they created themselves, you’re putting money directly back into our community.
And you never know.
That little table you stopped at during Garfield Days could eventually turn into somebody’s storefront.
That’s why I always say support small businesses when you can.
Let’s Keep Showing This Side of Milwaukee
Milwaukee isn’t perfect.
No city is.
But I refuse to believe that the only time our neighborhoods deserve attention is when something bad happens.
We need to show the festivals.
We need to show the businesses.
We need to show the entrepreneurs.
We need to show people dancing and laughing.
We need to show families enjoying themselves.
We need to show the CULTURE.
Because that’s Milwaukee too.
And Garfield Days gave us another opportunity to do exactly that.
Now I Want to Hear From Milwaukee
Were you at Garfield Days this weekend?
How was it?
What did you eat? 😂
Who had the best music?
Did you buy anything from the vendors?
And for my longtime Milwaukee people, how far back do YOU remember Garfield Days?
I especially want to hear some of those old-school Garfield Days memories because I KNOW somebody reading this has a story to tell. 😂
Drop your memories and pictures in the comments.
Let’s keep showing people that there’s a whole lot more happening in Milwaukee than what you see on the evening news.
414 Milwaukee Mil Town — Our City. Our People. Our Stories.
