Milwaukee business owners will host Milwaukee Beer and Brat Bash at this year’s SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW), the largest film, music and interactive media festival in the country, will converge in Austin, Texas on Friday, March 11. While many individuals from Milwaukee will make their way down to the festival, Brian Artka and a group of Milwaukee business owners, will showcase all that’s great about Milwaukee when they host the second annual Milwaukee Beer and Brat Bash in Austin.
“Last year we had about 200 people come, It’s an exciting event we host to showcase Milwaukee and let other people know what we’re all about,” said Artka, a web developer and designer from Milwaukee. “When people think of the Midwest they automatically think Chicago, but when it comes to interactive and emerging technology Milwaukee really has a lot to offer and we want to give people a way to get to know what’s going on here and introduce at least part of our thriving creative class.”
This is Artka’s sixth year at SXSW and together with Mike Rohde of Rohdesign, Tracy Apps, web and graphic designer, Andy Wright of Meet Meme and Cindi Thomas of Translator, they will host the Milwaukee Beer and Brat Bash at SXSW from 12 to 3 p.m. at the Cedar Door in Austin on Monday, March 14.
“This year we are taking up the whole place, it’s a little bit off the beaten path from the main conference, but we find that a lot of people who know about the event don’t mind.”
The Beer and Brat Fest will feature free Miller Genuine Draft and Pabst Brewing as well as free Usinger’s sausage, Artka said.
The sausage and other uniquely Milwaukee merchandise is shipped down to the pub before the event, Pabst and MGD are already on tap at the Cedar Door.
“People love the free beer and free brats,” Artka said. “It’s a great networking opportunity for everyone involved in the conference. Our main goal is to share a little bit of our city with them.”
According to Artka, most people still have the perception that all Wisconsin and Milwaukee is ‘beer, brats and LaVerne and Shirley, but those who have actually visited Milwaukee change their minds quickly.
“Most people assume we are still a very blue collar manufacturing work force,” Artka said. “We play off the beer and brat thing a little bit, but we are also debunking some of those myths that beer, brats and hard core manufacturing is all we have to offer. Most will find it very interesting and grow to like Milwaukee and the talent that we have here. We do this for all the creative workers and the emerging tech geeks from the city.”
Milwaukee-based company, Meet Meme, will host a city-wide scavenger hunt throughout the first couple days of SXSW. The original plan was to gather all participants of the hunt at the Milwaukee Beer and Brat Festival to announce the winners, Artka said.
“We’re hoping it’s another huge success,” Artka said. “Right now we’re trying to get more sponsors for the event and get as many people involved as possible to highlight the great things we have going on here.”
Not going to SXSW? The Milwaukee Beer and Brat Festival is hosting a fundraiser for the event at AJ Bombers on Sunday, Feb. 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. Visit the Milwaukee Beer and Brat Bash Facebook page for more information.
