On the beautiful Door County Peninsula, Memorial Day Weekend is generally recognized as the true beginning of Summer! This year we are looking at a mostly sunny weekend with lows in the 50s and highs in the 60s (F), with a fairly minimal chance of rain – perfect weather for a light jacket and lots of outdoor activities! This weekend is the Door County Festival of Nature – offering tons of educational and inspirational activities in nature, the Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Fair – wonderful for wandering and shopping outdoors, and Jacksonport’s 42nd Annual Maifest – complete with Midway fun and a parade!
Read on for live music, great places to enjoy a meal, and event details! If you haven’t booked your room yet, you’re in luck, Door County Lodging’s Last Minute Lodging Blog: Memorial Weekend 2014 will tell you who has rooms, suites, and rentals available for this weekend!
Live music can be found at a variety of locations on Memorial Weekend. Check out The Cookery Restaurant & Wine Bar in Fish Creek on Friday, May 23 at 7pm when Sunmark entertains with originals and covers in folk-rock and country styles. Sunmark features Seth Raddatz, songwriter, lead guitar and vocalist, with brothers Aaron Fischer on bass and Austin Raddatz on djembe (hand drum). When not performing, Seth Raddatz and Aaron Fischer are also cooks at The Cookery! On Sunday, May 25 at 7:30pm singer/songwriter Bill Gonnsen will play an eclectic blend of folk and country including songs by Paul Simon, John Prine, Leonard Cohen, and Diamond Rio. Call 920.868.3634 for more information. Across from the Door Community Auditorium you’ll find Arroyo Bay Grill where there will be live music Saturday on the patio from 1-2pm and 9:30pm-12:30am – put on your dancing shoes! The Gibraltar Grill, also in Fish Creek, will have timeless music from Cookee on Saturday, May 24 at 7:30pm.
In Sturgeon Bay, plan to stay at Stone Harbor Resort and catch live music with Quiet Storm on Friday, May 23 at 8:30pm, Whiskey Sours from 2-5pm and the Dave Steffen Band at 8:30pm on Saturday, May 24, and the Dave Steffen Band play again on “Sunday Funday,” May 25 from 2-6pm.
Saturday night, May 24, you can also catch the band Small Forest at Third Avenue Playhouse! Small Forest is made up of local singer/songwriters Jeanne Kuhns and Marybeth Mattson with their tall-tree bass player, Patrick Palmer. Together they play originals and lesser-known covers in progressive folk and pop/rock styles. Grab dinner before or after the show at one of Sturgeon Bay’s fabulous restaurants like 136 Restaurant or Hot Tamales – you’ll find more than 30 Sturgeon Bay restaurants with click-to-call phone numbers and GPS directions on the Door County Chefs FREE, GREEN, MOBILE DINING APP! Click HERE to get it now!
During the day on Saturday and Sunday head to Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay for the Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Fair (May 24-25, 2014). Browse and bring home fine art and crafts, enjoy food and roaming entertainment as well as art activities for the kids. Sponsored by the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center, visit them online for more information.
Site of Maifest – Lakeside Park, Jacksonport, WI
The 42nd Annual Maifest in Jacksonport (May 24-25, 2014) offers a variety of kid-friendly activities including bouncy houses, pony and helicopter rides, and a parade (10:30am Saturday). Lots of delicious foods including funnel cakes, kolaches, brats, and a corn roast will keep you full while you check out the Juried Art Fair, and enjoy live music with Jerry Voelker & His Jolly Gents (Saturday at noon) and Modern Day Drifters (Sunday 11am-3pm). Find the Maifest Midway at Lakeside Park and additional activities at the Ball Park on County V, one block west on Hwy 57.
After the fun settle in for dinner and drinks at JJ’s of Jacksonport right in Jacksonport, or take a short drive south for an incredible meal with a view at Donny’s Glidden Lodge Restaurant.
Throughout the county May 22-24, 2014, celebrate the beauty and natural diversity of the Door Peninsula with the 12th Annual Door County Festival of Nature. Participate in a Full-Day Birding Outing on Washington Island, study Lake Ecology aboard a Great Lakes Research Vessel, and take a tour of Plum Island, or tour Waseda Farms (where many local restaurants get their outstanding meats). There is also a Night Sky Program, a Barn Dance & Social, a Festival Dinner, and lots more! Visit The Ridges Sanctuary online for more information. Walk-In Registration and Field Trip Packet Pick-Up will be at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall on May 22 from 5-8pm, May 23 from 8am-1:30pm and from 5-9pm, and May 24 from 8-9:30am.
Head to Sister Bay on Sunday for the Field & Street Rally (cars, tractors & emergency vehicles) from 11am-4pm in the Shopko parking lot. Bring your cool car or tractor ($5 to show it), kids for the goat petting zoo and camel rides, and let off some aggression with the Beat-A-Junker!
Wherever you end up spending your days and nights in Door County this Memorial Weekend, we hope you’ll take a moment to look around you at the natural beauty of our peninsula and find what you need in it’s quiet breezes, crashing waves, and stunning scenes. Take a deep breath – we’ve got you now. Sit back and relax.
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