HartFest returns to Wauwatosa this weekend, celebrating 30 years of music, food and fun. The concerts and other attractions at Hart Park start at 5 p.m. Friday, June 12, and run all day Saturday, June 13, and this year’s headlining bands are local favorites the LoveMonkeys and the Gufs.
For its first few years, HartFest started as a beer tent in a Hart Park parking lot. Now the festival has grown into a two-day event with dozens of food trucks, bands and activities for attendees to enjoy. It is hosted by the Village of Wauwatosa Business Improvement District, with presenting sponsor WaterStone Bank.
Full details are posted here on the Village of Wauwatosa website.
“I’ve got friends coming from the coast who just want to be back in Tosa again,” said John Hauser, frontman for the LoveMonkeys, who are headlining the festival on Friday. They take the Rotary Stage at 7:30 p.m.
The LoveMonkeys got their start as a one-off act for a company Christmas party that turned into a 35-year musical journey. The band has been playing in and around the Wauwatosa area for years and have gotten deeply involved with HartFest during that time.
“I’m surrounded by really good people both onstage and off,” remarked Hauser. “To me, music is one of the few ways we can really time travel.”
The LoveMonkeys have said this will be the band’s final year of performing, with HartFest prominent on its list of last shows. The band channels a Grateful Dead mentality, never playing the same setlist twice. Expect a refreshing set of music that will frame the rest of the HartFest experience, as there's a lot to do at Hart Park this weekend.
The annual Verizon BBQ Cook-Off is returning to the festival this year on Saturday. Attendees who purchase a $25 reservation ticket can sample food prepared by local pitmasters, who start cooking that morning. Attendees will try out different takes of BBQ chicken and vote for the best. The winner will be honored with the People’s Choice award.
A smorgasbord of other food sides will also be offered to attendees. The cookoff goes from 1 to 2:30 p.m., and the winner will be announced at 3 p.m.
Barbeque just scratches the surface of HartFest’s cuisine. Expect an avalanche of food that represents the diversity of the local community. Azteca Restaurant will offer a selection of Mexican options, while WAN's Thai Cuisine will bring flavors of Southeast Asia. There will also be burgers, pizza, crepes and more from the 25 total food vendors in attendance.
“For three decades, HartFest has been more than just a party,” Maria Panno, executive director of the Village of Wauwatosa BID, said in a news release. “It’s been our way to celebrate summer, support vital local causes and have a great time doing it.”
Other HartFest events include a pickleball tournament organized by The Picklr, a new indoor facility in West Allis. The tournament runs from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday and is open to intermediate skill levels. Teams of two will battle to be crowned the best pickleball duo in Wauwatosa and earn a cash prize. Third place will earn $1, second place will earn $70 and first place will get $140. The entry fee to play is $70 per team, check in starts at 8:45 a.m. and all are welcome to watch.
Food and beverage trucks will be ready to sell starting at 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
The closing night headliner will be The Gufs, a local pop-rock band that first gained a following during their initial heyday in the 1990s, when they signed with Atlantic Records. That show starts at 8 p.m. on the Rotary Stage.
- Jonathan Joseph is a Milwaukee-based freelance reporter whose work has also been featured by Milwaukee Magazine and Radio Milwaukee.
