Summerfest 2024: 14 ways to get into the Milwaukee music festival for free
Let the scramble for Big Gig free-admission deals begin.
Summerfest unveiled 14 promotions Thursday that will get you into the 2024 festival for free, including a Fourth of July deal that opens the gates for all from noon to 6 p.m.
The free-admission deals listed by day:
June 20: Patrons who arrive at any of the festival's three gates between noon and 3 p.m. and donate three shelf-stable food items receive one free admission ticket good for that day only. (Donations benefit Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.)
June 21: All patrons arriving between noon and 3 p.m. get in free for Children's Fest day.
June 22: The first 1,500 patrons who arrive between noon and 3 p.m. and donate new socks, deodorant and/or oral hygiene items (toothbrush and toothpaste) with a minimum value of $10 receive one free admission ticket good for that day only. (Donations benefit the Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership.)
June 20, 21 or 22: The first 15,000 fans who download the Summerfest app will get a free general-admission ticket that can be redeemed between noon and 4 p.m. on one of Summerfest’s first three days.
June 27: Pick ‘n Save shoppers who spend $50 on select items through May 14 can bring their receipt to the Summerfest box offices between noon and 6 p.m. to receive four general admission tickets (limit 12 tickets per transaction). Details at picknsave.com/summerfest. Bonus deals: General admission is $5 from noon to 6 p.m, and all beer, seltzer, cherry vodka lemonade, bottles of water and soda are 50% off during that time window.
June 28: Patrons wearing shirts or hats representing select area colleges will get in free from noon to 3 p.m. Participating schools: Herzing University, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
June 29: All active-duty military personnel, veterans, police, firefighters and EMTs (plus up to four family members) arriving between noon and 6 p.m. get in free. Valid Military ID, copy or photo of a DD-214 form, driver’s license with veteran classification, law enforcement or fire department agency-issued credentials, or police and fire union ID cards required. Plus, the first 2,500 people who donate a gently used or new children’s book (minimum $10 value) get in free until 3 p.m. Picture books and early-readers books preferred.
July 4: Admission free for all until 6 p.m. courtesy M&M’s, which will supply free samples at the Mid Gate.
July 5: Everyone 60 and older gets in free from noon to 4 p.m. (ID required). And the first 2,000 people who arrive between noon and 3 p.m. and donate three shelf food items for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin get in free. Bonus deals: Seniors will get a $2 off voucher for a food or nonalcoholic beverage purchase above $10. And all wheelchairs will be free for seniors from noon to 4 p.m.
July 6: Everyone arriving between noon and 3 p.m. gets in free courtesy of Potawatomi Casino Hotel. Bonus deals: The first 30,000 patrons get a Summerfest 2025 general-admission ticket and an entry ticket for the Big Win drawing. (Ticket needs to be dropped off in a specially marked bin inside the Mid Gate between noon and 3 p.m.)
Good any day: Pick ‘n Save shoppers who spent $25 on select items in a single transaction with their Fresh Perks Card between May 22 and June 11 get two general-admission tickets. Visit picknsave.com/summerfest or metromarket.net/summerfest for details and list of qualifying products. Everyone who donates blood at a Versiti Blood Center location (with the exception of Marshfield and Manitowoc) June 1-7 will receive a free general-admission ticket, while supplies last. The first 500 Summerfest attendees who show a 2024 completed donation in the Versiti app also will receive a free ticket. And all high school students who begin their FAFSA before July 6 will receive a code redeemable for a general-admission ticket.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How to get free Summerfest tickets for the 2024 festival in Milwaukee