Summerfest returned to the three weekend format. What vendors are saying about business on opening weekend.
As Summerfest 2022 kicked into gear, vendors — some returning, some new — were hopeful crowds will return to this year's three-weekend event.
From underneath his tent, Manuel Corona Sr., owner of Kephra Art, leads a crew who bend, fire up and polish pieces of wearable art.
"It feels good to be back," Corona said, as he bent a piece of metal to form a ring band.
"Last year attendance was down. And of course when attendance is down, the money is down," he said. This is his fourth year at Summerfest.
Corona hopes sales double this year compared to last, and said he looks forward to meeting different people.
"It should be better. It should be normal, at least close to normal."
At the Shop Local Market, Lilo Allen sat behind a folding table beneath the tent of her business, Papyrus and Charm. She sells an array of home and personal adornments including jewelry, 3-wick candles and handmade bags.
In her second year at Summerfest, Allen said she's happy the festival is continuing the three-weekend format introduced last year. She thinks it will help vendors have more high-volume sale days.
"From a business perspective, it's great because it's over the weekend," she said. "Folks are off of work, kids are off of school."
Allen said she is especially happy to be a part of the Shop Local Market, a space dedicated to Milwaukee-based vendors.
More: Here's the Summerfest 2022 lineup by date, time and stage for the Milwaukee music festival
"Being here not only elevates me here on a grand scale, but also allows me to say 'Hey, come stop by the shop'," she said.
She co-founded Bronzeville Collective, which houses about 30 black-, brown- and queer-owned businesses in Milwaukee.
Allen hopes "meaningful interactions" at Summerfest will encourage people to visit her store and other Milwaukee-based businesses.
BMO program provides a boost
Allen is one of nine vendors sponsored through the BMO EMpower Grant Program that provides funding and educational support to local, minority-owned businesses.
For first-time vendors at Summerfest, having a booth and being able to interact with customers is a treat.
"We just want to do a good job and have fun and learn about Summerfest," said Pete Cooney, owner of Pete's Pops.
He started his all-natural popsicle shop eight years ago and knew that someday he wanted to sell popsicles at Milwaukee's premier summertime event.
He sells from a refurbished vintage ice cream truck and hopes the teal truck will be their Summerfest outfit for years to come.
Bianca Hughlett helped her daughter, Yomylah Hughlett, 5, drop paint on a spinning record to create a custom art piece at Soul Spin-Spin Art MKE, a local business where customers can create their own art on vintage vinyl records.
Bianca, who has lived in Milwaukee her entire life, has been coming to the fest for about 15 years.
She said it "feels great" to return with her daughter. She looked forward to people watch and visit attractions where she can spend some "mom and daughter time".
Soul Spin-Spin owner Justin Stone was happy the weather was great on the festival's first day and said he "couldn't complain." This was is his first time as a vendor at Summerfest.
As a vendor at various street fairs and markets around Milwaukee for the last eight years, he has felt the effects of the pandemic first-hand.
He's visited Summerfest for many years and was well aware of last year's poor attendance, but he looks forward to meeting more customers and showing them how to make custom art.
"I'm really optimistic here seeing attendance. It's already looking better."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Summerfest vendors optimistic that three-weekend format will pay off
