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Hot Events

Your Sheboygan datebook

Midsummer Festival of the Arts

July 21 & 22

This event presents 135 artist vendors in mediums such as painting, photography, jewelry, wearables, wood carving, ceramic, glass, leather, sculpture, textile, toys and more. Food vendors offer everything from Sheboygan County’s famous bratwurst to ethnic cuisines and ice cream. Nationally acclaimed bands and local musicians will provide live entertainment. 21, 10am-5pm. 22, 10am-4pm. John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan. 458-6144.

Johnsonville Brat Days

August 3 & 4

At Brat Days, the signature sausage of Sheboygan makes its way into everything from corndogs and egg rolls to tacos and quesadillas. Brats are served on a stick, on pizza and on nachos – the myriad ways to consume a brat at Brat Days is dizzying. This 65th annual event includes a brat eating contest, parade, live music, carnival rides and craft marketplace. Brat Days is one of the largest fundraising projects for the Sheboygan Jaycees, with proceeds benefitting the community primarily though donations. 3, 4-11:15pm. 4, 7:30am-11:15pm. Kiwanis Park, Sheboygan. 803-8980.

History Hill Music Fest

September 8

This annual music festival highlights Sheboygan County’s local musicians with the front porch of the 1862 Weinhold Log Cabin as their stage. Three local acts perform, beverages and snacks available for purchase. The museum and three historic buildings are open at no cost. 12-6pm. Sheboygan County Historical Museum. 458-1103.

Taste Sheboygan

September 13 

One of Sheboygan’s most beloved events will again bring restaurants from throughout the city together to offer samplings of their finest fare. Taste Sheboygan benefits the United Way of Sheboygan County. 4-10pm. Fountain Park, Sheboygan. 458-3425.

Culture Clash 

Music, history and the arts thrive in Sheboygan. Check out these places for a taste. 

Sheboygan County Historical Museum

The Sheboygan County Historical Museum complex houses four historic buildings including an agricultural barn, cheese factory, Victorian home and log cabin all from the mid to late-1800s. A 15,000-square-foot underground gallery space hosts long-term and seasonal exhibits. Make sure to check out this summer’s exhibit, “The Golden Age of Video Arcade Games,” featuring over 40 arcade games along with other memorabilia from the collection of Bradley & Jessica Czech. This special exhibit features titles like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Frogger. Some will even be free to play! Open February 1–October 31. M–F, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sa, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 

John Michael Kohler Arts Center

This nationally-acclaimed visual and performing arts center in downtown Sheboygan explores contemporary American art. Exhibitions range from sculpture and photography to installation art and the work of self-taught artists. The performing arts are showcased through dance, music and theatre performances. The 100,000-square-foot complex comprises 10 galleries, a theater, an interdisciplinary performance space, studio-classrooms, ARTspace shop and ARTcafe. A pit stop in the bathrooms is required – even the urinals are works of art. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

James Tellen Woodland Sculpture Garden

Former factory worker, James Tellen (1880–1957), created over 30 concrete figures in the woods surrounding his family’s summer cabin. Today that collection, located in the Black River area of Sheboygan, is a permanent display of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. The large-scale concrete sculptures are nestled within the woodlands, creating an organic and whimsical feel like something from a fairy tale. The site is free and open to the public.

Sheboygan Railroad Museum

The Sheboygan Society of Scale Model Railroad Engineers operates the Sheboygan Railroad Museum which offers an extensive library of books, periodicals and videos on all aspects of railroading, from prototype history to technical subjects on railroads and model railroading. Inside the museum, eight model layouts in six scales display various eras of railroading. Visitors can experience hands-on exhibits and see a large collection of century-old railroad antiques and artifacts. The museum is open Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and the first and third Saturdays of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Above & Beyond Children’s Museum

This three-level children’s museum offers 10,000 square feet of hands-on, interactive exhibits that are as fun as they are educational. Visitors of all ages can make impressions on the giant pin screen, voyage in the USS Efroymson Ship and play a tune on the PVC pipe organ. Adventurers will have a blast crawling from the tree house to the music mezzanine through the rope mesh sky crawl that soars above the first floor exhibit area. 

Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts

This theater, built in the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, is a historic landmark of the 1920s. It was originally built for the Milwaukee Theatre Circuit of Universal Pictures Corporation. In 1996 the Weill Center Foundation, Inc. was established and embarked on a five-year restoration project to bring the theater back to life, after it had closed four years prior. Today the theater presents several local performing arts groups as well as its own series of live performances and movies. Check the calendar for upcoming events at weillcenter.com. 

On the Horizon: JMKAC Art Preserve 

This spring, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center broke ground on the Art Preserve – a 54,000-square-foot satellite facility designed to store and showcase the center’s 20,000-plus artist-built environments. The new space will enable the public to view the collection year-round, rather than only when exhibited at JMKAC. The three-level building will be located on a 38-acre green space which rises above the Sheboygan River. Inside visitors will be able to explore 13 environments presented as exhibition-style installations. The Art Preserve will also include an education area, archive and study area. It will open to the public in the late summer of 2020.