MILWAUKEE — We're getting ready for the return of one of Milwaukee's most popular street festivals after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The 2022 Brady Street Festival will kick off on Saturday.
This year there will be more than 90 vendors and organizers, and organizers anticipate anywhere from 25-50,000 visitors at the event.
There will also be three stages for performers, and check this out, they're all local.
It all gets started at 11 a.m. on Saturday and the festival runs until midnight so you've got all day to get out there and enjoy all that Brady Street has to offer.
If you're looking to get a workout in before indulging in some great food, you can join MKE Yoga Social for dog yoga at the North Shore Bank east stage. That starts at 11:30. And later in the day, you can enjoy the mix of headliners and Brady Street favorites like the annual drag show, Brady Street babes, and Milwaukee's best local bands.
I spent some time with Rachel Taylor, the executive director for the Brady Street Business Improvement District which is the organization in charge of the festival.
She's been in that role for about two and half years, right around the time the city shut down because of COVID. But today, it's back in a big way.
She tells me there are currently 102 businesses in the Brady Street BID, and listen to this, more shops have launched on Brady, than closed, over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I've been really impressed with the street and its ability to bounce back after the pandemic. We actually gained more businesses than we lost from the pandemic, we have some real standouts like Pete's Pub, that has been doing phenomenally, and they opened during the pandemic," said Taylor.
Some shops along the street still have shortened hours, but that's due to staffing issues.
Bandit, a vintage shop, And twisted plants, a vegan restaurant, have also opened within the last year. And you'll find the newest business, Sticky rice, at the far end of Brady Street where it meets with Van Buren.
Check out these photos of the Brady Street Festival back in the 70s!
