In case you missed the news, Milwaukee Record and Busby’s will once again be joining forces to bring the city a full-fledged spring festival. Yes, following a successful debut in 2025, the second annual Morgan Park Picnic will return to the eponymous one-acre triangle at the edge of the Bay View and Fernwood neighborhoods for another day of fun on Saturday, May 23.
Between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Morgan Park will play host to a FREE family-friendly festival that will offer a winning mix of live music, punk rock yoga, Wisconsin craft beer (and other refreshments), area retailers, community support, and more in and around the underutilized triangle park. It’s going to be awesome!
Since it’s only the second time we’re doing this festival, you probably have a few questions. Well, as co-creators and co-organizers of this ambitious new undertaking, we have answers to those questions. As you make plans to join us on May 23, here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 edition of Morgan Park Picnic.
Who’s playing?
The day will start off with a free Punk Rock Yoga class from Healium‘s Robyn Lucks. If you’re interested in taking part, please consider signing up! Make sure to bring a mat, some water, and proper attire for the weather. After the class is over, the stage will host four different local acts that will perform throughout the afternoon. We’ll also be bumping a curated blend of festival-suited tunes between the activities and entertainment to keep spirits high when the stage isn’t in use. Here’s the full schedule:
11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. — Healium Punk Rock Yoga
12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. — Red Quean
2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. — Emmitt James & The Stankface Trio
3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. — dak duBois & the flavour brigade
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. — Social Cig
What’s to drink?
As if outdoor yoga and stacked cast of musicians isn’t enticing enough, Busby’s has assembled a great list of draft and can selections from Third Space Brewing, which will be available at two drink stations in the park. You can also enjoy Odyssea Sangria and find some N/A options including Sprecher Root Beer, Liquid Death mountain water, and Third Space’s Citra Lemon Hop Water. Anodyne Coffee Roasters will also have a stand with coffee (including their excellent cold brew) and other beverages on Pennsylvania Ave. Here’s what Busby’s will be pouring and cracking at the drink stations.
DRAFT
Morgan Park Golden Ale
Happy Place Midwest Pale Ale
Heavenly Haze Hazy IPA
Central Time IPA
Frog Weiss Fruited Sour
Pretty Good Amber Ale
CANS
Happy Place Midwest Pale Ale
Cucumber Lime Blonde Ale
Lavender Lemonade Fruited Sour
Odyssea Rosé Sangria
Odyssea Red Sangria
Third Space Hop Water Citra Lemon
Sprecher Root Beer
Liquid Death Water
Throughout the day, volunteers representing Bay View Neighborhood Association, Fernwood Montessori School, and Bay View High School Gay-Straight Alliance will help serve drinks. All tips from drink sales will be donated to those organizations. And if you’re looking to spend some time out of the sun, Busby’s will be open for business and will have its full bar available. We’ve even lined up some volunteers to help folks safely cross Kinnickinnic Ave. during the festival.
But carry-ins are allowed, right?
HELL NO! You have no idea how much time, money, resources, and effort Milwaukee Record, Busby’s, and countless others have put into making this event possible. It’s honestly pretty terrifying to put something like this on! Supporting the event will help ensure this young festival will be able to happen again next spring (and for years to come). Please don’t carry in alcohol for that reason and, well, because it’s not allowed, as indicated on the dozens of scary legal documents we signed in order to be permitted to host this. Just be cool, please.
Will there be anything to eat?
Yep! Bay View Lions Club, K&L’s BBQ, Not Bad Food, Off Shore, Pallino Burger, and Tots On The Street will be set up against Morgan Park on Kinnickinnic Ave. and serving up food on-site for the duration of the event. Meanwhile, you can grab cool treats from Chillwaukee Pops and enjoy other desserts from Pie Inc.
Any other vendors?
The entire stretch of Pennsylvania Ave. between Kinnickinnic Ave. and Holt Ave. will be shut down and will host approximately 25 local retailers (records, vintage, apparel, candles, and more), area artists, and wonderful Milwaukee organizations. You can check out the full Morgan Park Picnic vendor list HERE.
How can I help?
Well, the biggest thing you can do to help Morgan Park Picnic be a success would be to attend. It’s that easy! Speaking for the other organizers, we’re doing this so people can come out and have some free Memorial Weekend fun to help kick off festival season. Simply showing up would mean the world to us.
Aside from that, we’re still looking for a few more volunteers to help us keep the park and surrounding streets clean, assist with tear down, and be on hand for other things that inevitably come up over the course of the day. Short of that, we’d appreciate your help in letting people know it’s happening!
Speaking of help, what generous sponsors helped make this event possible?
Wow! You’re asking some great questions, fictional person. The inaugural Morgan Park Picnic is made possible through support from Static Eye Design Co., Pabst Theater Group, Pie Inc., Third Space Brewing, Gruber Law Offices, Bay View Neighborhood Association, Dederich Swinney & Associates, Katie Egan-Keene Real Estate, Music Go Round Greenfield, Healium Hot Yoga, The Glow Land, Park People, Kneeverland Productions, and WMSE. Please support them because they support us!
Anything else?
Bring lawn chairs! Oh, and if you live close by, maybe consider walking, biking, or carpooling so parking isn’t an issue. There is a lot of parking on nearby side streets throughout Bay View, Fernwood, and even the city of St. Francis that all are in the vicinity of Morgan Park. Oh, and Morgan Park is also right on the 15 bus line.
We could go on and on with more information and reasons to attend, but we’ll just keep it short and sweet: This is going to be a great day and we’d love it if you joined us at the Morgan Park Picnic. We’ll see you on Saturday, May 23!
