Milwaukee World Festival, the nonprofit organization that maintains Henry Maier Festival Park and operates Summerfest, on Monday announced that it has issued a request for proposals to consider expanded opportunities for future programming and improvements for the festival grounds on Milwaukee’s lakefront.
The RFP is a call for a master use plan to explore increased public use of Henry Maier Festival Park, while maintaining use of the festival grounds for Summerfest and the ethnic and cultural festivals held there annually.
Henry Maier Festival Park is owned by the City of Milwaukee and leased to Milwaukee World Festival, which maintains and makes improvements to the park. Milwaukee World Festival says it and its sponsors have invested more than $160 million in capital improvements to the Summerfest grounds since 2003.
“Henry Maier Festival Park is one of Milwaukee’s treasures, representing one of our community’s most important lakefront assets,” said Mary Ellen Stanek, chairwoman of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “As part of this process to explore additional programming, Milwaukee World Festival intends to deepen our partnership with the City of Milwaukee, including aligning Milwaukee World Festival’s goals with the city’s vision to grow Milwaukee.”
In 2023, Henry Maier Festival Park hosted over 1.2 million guests through Summerfest, cultural festivals, concerts, and non-profit events as well as public access to the Northwestern Mutual Community Park and Lakeshore State Park, according to Milwaukee World Festival.
“We are excited to consider future opportunities to expand the use of Henry Maier Festival Park, while remaining committed to our non-profit mission to provide a showcase for the performing arts, exposure to ethnic heritage and cultural traditions, recreation for the public, and employment opportunities,” said Sarah Pancheri, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
