MILWAUKEE -- The temperature isn't the only thing heating up this weekend. Yes, the mercury will be in the 90s and it will feel like triple digits, but it's the unofficial start to the festival season. Polish Fest opens its doors Friday and the Lakefront Festival of Art starts as well.
The heat won't keep the people away though.
"We have some very long winters," Michael Anthony Lock Jr. said. "It's ridiculous. When we get a chance to get a summer, we want to do everything."
Lock was busy sparring near Bradford Beach. He's training for an MMA fight in July. So the heat is something he's looking forward to as he has to shed some 20 pounds before the fight.
"I'll be coming out of the shirt tomorrow," Lock said.
But it will be important to stay hydrated and take it easy this weekend for those of us not octagon-ready. The festivals going on are also prepared for that.
"I think we'll get a higher turnout," Krista Renfrew, Director of Special Events for the Milwaukee Art Museum said. "People love to come out for sunshine and along the water is a great place to do it."
The Lakefront Fesitval of Art has the benefit of an enormous tent to protect people from the sun, and with entry to the festival, you can have access to the air-conditioned art museum.
"Wisconsinites are tough in the summer," Renfrew said. "Rain or shine, hot or cold, this is the perfect place to do it."
Polish Fest is looking forward to the heat. It's something they don't often experience.
"This is the 37th year," Janine Adamczyk, Chair of Polish Fest Managing Committee said. "I'd say at least 33 of those years we've had rain. Even this morning, we had rain. What can you expect? It's Polish Fest weekend."
The rain may be a welcome respite after the heat expected this weekend. However, Adamczyk says people should make the best of it.
"Let's face it, we have more like, winter for 10 and a half months, maybe a half a month of spring and, if we're lucky, a month of summer," Adamczyk said. "Take advantage of it while we can."
