Milwaukee & the Indian Summer Festival

We stepped out to check out Milwaukee this morning!

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the City of Milwaukee has a population of 594,833. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area.

The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, the French-Canadian explorer Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.

While Milwaukee had been previously marketed as "A Genuine American City" as well as "A Great Place on a Great Lake," it has earned the nickname, the "City of Festivals."

We walked from our hotel down to Henry Meier lakefront area to see the Indian Summer Festival. It is a gathering of Indian culture from places across the US. I was excited!!

The mission of Indian Summer Inc. is to educate, preserve and promote American Indian cultures; showcase the diversity that exists within tribal cultures, provide economic opportunities to our people and strengthen communication and understanding.

We had a great time walking around and looking at crafts, displays, tools and other aspects of daily life. Lots of animal pelts to touch! We really enjoyed the show, 'East Meets West' where two Indians from different tribes (one Commanche -west and the other, Creek - east) taught us in an entertaining way about Indian life, making fire and using tools.

We ended the afternoon with a walk along the lake foreshore, having a look at the kite flying display before heading back to our hotel where stumbled upon and watched Sam Stosur - WIN the US Open ladies Tennis final!

Then we enjoyed the hotel's pool and 'whirlpool' (spa tub)! Highly recommended!