A Good Year For Summerfest

Milwaukee’s Summerfest had the highest attendance it’s seen in three years, according to organizers.

The 11-day festival, which ended July 10th, topped 2004 attendance by 4 percent with nearly 920,000 people walking through the turnstiles, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

It took in about $10 million, organizers said, topping expectations by 3 percent.

Summerfest CEO Don Smiley and vendors cited several changes for the increases, including staggered start times for performers.

But one businessman had a different idea. “Let me tell you what worked,” Kory Garbelman of Water Street Brewery told the Journal Sentinel. “It didn’t rain.”

The fest saw downpours in ’03 and ’04.