These 9 Wisconsin Towns Have The Most Unique Festivals

Wisconsin doesn’t just throw festivals—it catapults them into the stratosphere of quirkiness. Where else can you watch folks toss dried cow dung through the air, celebrate the crash landing of a satellite at Sputnikfest, and then chow down on an oversized burger at Burger Fest? And just when you think it couldn’t get wilder, the Wo-Zha-Wa Days rolls in like a carnival fever dream with its mix of rides, music, and the most cheerful name. In Wisconsin, they don’t just celebrate life—they deep-fry it, throw it, and serve it with cheese curds. Here are nine Wisconsin towns with the most unique festivals, whose unofficial motto is probably, “Hold my beer; I’ve got this.”

Seymour

Seymour is a small community fifteen miles west of Green Bay, with the unique title of “Home of the Hamburger.” While the town claims the title thanks to a local boy named Charles Nagreen, who went by the name “Hamburger Charlie,” the origins of who actually invented the patty and where the name came from are disputed. Some say the lowly burger originated in Hamburg, Germany, but numerous New York and Texas towns claim to be the burger’s birthplace. Since 1989, Seymour has celebrated the 1885 birth of the burger with a Burger Fest. Festivities include a bun run, a Burger Fest car show, the world’s largest hamburger parade, a burger-eating contest, a ketchup slide, and the unveiling and serving of the 200-pound giant hamburger. This year’s Burger Fest is on August 8 and 9, 2025, in downtown Seymour.

Ellsworth

Renowned as the “Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin,” Ellsworth is about 50 miles from Minneapolis. Wisconsin has been the top cheese-producing state in the United States for decades and produces over 600 types of cheese, including squeaky cheese curds, making cheese a tasty part of the state’s identity. Visitors don’t have to look far to find a cheesehead hat, a festival dedicated to cheese, or a tourist attraction like the Mars’ Cheese Castle in Kenosha. Ellsworth’s Cheese Curd Festival is held each June to celebrate its designation as the Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin and its tasty white morsels. This year’s festival will take place on June 27 and 28, 2025, in Ellsworth. Six thousand pounds of cheese are expected to be served and sampled. Head to the Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, the official supplier of the festival, to buy some curds to take home after the two-event day.

Prairie du Sac

The town of Prairie du Sac sits next to Sauk City on the banks of the picturesque Wisconsin River, and the two towns are such good neighbors they are often referred to by the single name, Prairie Sauk. With a shared identity, landscape, and collective sense of humor, the combined town has also celebrated a light-hearted festival where residents compete to see who can throw dried cow manure (or flattened cow chips) the farthest. In a nod to the early pioneers who used dried buffalo manure as fuel to cook their food and heat their homes, Prairie Sauk has embraced its roots by holding the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw & Festival for the past 50 years. The 51st anniversary of the festival takes place from August 29 to 30, 2025, with live music, food trucks, family activities, and a Tournament of Chips parade.

Manitowoc

Known as Wisconsin’s “Maritime Capital,” Manitowoc is a gateway city to Lake Michigan. It features a beautiful waterfront, historic sites like the 1918 Manitowoc North Breakwater Lighthouse, and attractions like the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, where visitors can tour the famous USS Cobia, a fully restored World War II submarine that sank thirteen Japanese vessels. With its rich maritime heritage and historical treasures, the town proudly honors its past—but it also embraces the unexpected, like celebrating the day a 20-pound piece of the Russian Sputnik IV satellite crash-landed in the middle of a Manitowoc street on September 5, 1962. Since 2008, Manitowoc has held Sputnikfest on or around that fateful day. This year’s Sputnikfest will take place on September 6, 2025, from noon to 6 PM. It will feature space-themed costumes, activities, and several parades, including an alien pet costume parade and contest.

Warrens

The Warrens Cranberry Festival claims to be the largest in the world, ballooning the town’s population of around 500 residents to 150,000 during the last full weekend in September. What began in 1973 as a small community event to promote the town’s cranberry industry has grown exponentially over the years, and this year’s 52nd annual festival features 800 arts and craft vendors, 300 flea market booths, 100 farmer’s markets, walking tours of the cranberry bogs, and much more. The festival’s grand finale is the annual parade, resplendent with cheesehead marching bands, John Deere tractors, horse-drawn buggies, classic automobiles, and a decorative float carrying the Cranberry Queen and her royal entourage.

Wausau

Wausau is a picturesque town perched along the Wisconsin River known for its natural beauty, outdoor recreation opportunities, and thriving arts and culture scene. It is home to Rib Mountain State Park, where one of the oldest geological wonders of the world, known as Rib Mountain, is estimated to be over 1.7 billion years old. So it’s no surprise that against the backdrop of all this ancient beauty, the town hosts the unique Taste N Glow Balloon Fest, a modern celebration that lights up the skies with colorful hot air balloons, live entertainment, gourmet food, classic cars, activities for the kids, and more. What started as the Wausau Balloon Rally in 2002 is now a must-see magical festival in the Badger State. The Taste N Glow Balloon Festival is held on July 11 and 12, 2025.

Reedsburg

In the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, Reedsburg sits on the Baraboo River, home of the 400 State Trail, a railway-turned-trailway that follows the river for 22 miles. It is also the host of the Reedsburg Butter Festival, better known as Butterfest. Once known as the “Butter Capital of the World,” the local milk processing plant once produced more butter than any other place on the planet. In America’s Dairyland, the town began holding the festival in 1967, and over the years, the festival has grown to a weeklong celebration during June Dairy Month. This year’s Butterfest week is from June 18 to 22, 2025, where residents and visitors gather to enjoy buttery treats, live music during Butter Jam, a Butter Run, and a parade.

Bayfield

On the shores of Lake Superior, Bayfield is the gateway to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, where visitors can visit lighthouses and explore stunning sea caves while enjoying some of the best kayaking in the world. The town is also famous for its fruit orchards and berry fields and the popular Bayfield Apple Festival, a three-day extravaganza featuring orchard tours, vendor booths offering everything from freshly picked apples to homemade apple pies, crisps and ciders, arts and crafts, live music, an apple-pie eating contest, and the grand parade down historic Rittenhouse Avenue on Sunday. Established in 1962, the event has evolved into one of the largest apple festivals in the Midwest, attracting tens of thousands of attendees each year. This year’s festival celebrates its 63rd anniversary on October 3, 4 and 5, 2025.

Wisconsin Dells

While the entire state of Wisconsin loves any reason to celebrate, the tourist hotspot of Wisconsin Dells (the “Water Park Capital of the World") doesn’t seem to need a reason. Enter the Wo-Zha-Wa Fall Festival, named after the Ho-Chunk phrase meaning “to have fun.” The Ho-Chunk Nation is an Indigenous people who have lived in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S. for thousands of years and have a deep connection to the land, including the Wisconsin Dells region. The Wo-Zha-Wa Fall Festival includes family activities, an arts and crafts fair, an antique flea market, Maxwell Street Days, live entertainment, and a sizeable 100-unit parade. The festive celebration of autumn takes place from September 12 to 14, 2025.

Wisconsin’s small towns are celebrated for unique festivals, each showcasing the state’s rich cultural, agricultural, and historical heritage. From Seymour’s claim as the “Home of the Hamburger” to Bayfield’s Apple Festival and Manitowoc’s out-of-this-world Sputnikfest, these events highlight local traditions, natural beauty, and a love for community gatherings. As America’s Dairyland and a hub of Great Lakes history, Wisconsin has plenty of reasons to celebrate, with its strong ties to farming, Indigenous culture, and small-town charm. These festivals reflect a deep appreciation for local identity and provide residents and visitors alike with opportunities to connect and celebrate what makes Wisconsin so wacky and wonderful.