Cherries, boats, tractors, booyah and blues: Here's seven August festivals in Door County

DOOR COUNTY - Seems like there's a reason to hold a festival or special event just about any summer weekend in Door County, and weekends in August are no exception.

Throughout this month, those reasons include cherries, classic boats, antique tractors, bloody marys, booyah and pie, visual art and the blues, with seven big happenings and gatherings taking place every weekend from one end of the Peninsula to the other.

And these go along with other traditional festivals and events during August: the 72nd annual Peninsula Music Festival Symphony Series from Aug. 6 to 24, featuring saxophonist Bradford Marsalis on opening night and the return of longtime music director Victor Yampolsky for the Aug. 8 concert; the 33rd annual Washington Island Music Festival from Aug. 6 to 15; and the Door County Fair from Aug. 14 to 18.

Here's a look at how you can spend your weekends in August in Door County.

Aug. 3: 30th annual Cherry Fest, Jacksonport

Door County's pick-your-own cherry season may be winding down a little, but the Jacksonport Historical Society offers a big opportunity to celebrate the little red fruits with this popular festival taking place for the 30th time in Lakeside Park on the Lake Michigan shore.

The day's festivities begin with homemade cherry kolaches, cherry pies and cherry sundaes for sale – oh, cheese curds, too – from the Jacksonport Women's Club Bakery Booth from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A variety of cherry jams, pie fillings and other cherry products also will be for sale, along with used books, puzzles and games, to benefit the historical society.

If that's not enough cherry-filled food for you, the food booth, which opens at 9 a.m., has cherry brats along with burgers, brats, pulled pork sandwiches and beverages.

Also starting at 9 a.m. is the annual Herb Mueller Cherry Fest Car Show, with cars, trucks and tractors on display in the Erskine Rest Area at State 57 and County V until 3 p.m. Spectators can vote for a People's Choice Award that will be presented at 3, and those interested in showing their wheels can register their vehicles on site ($10 to show, free to attend).

A juried arts and crafts fair is open until 4 p.m., featuring a wide range of artists and craftsmen from all across the Midwest as well as a fiber art demonstration.

Children can take part in the traditional penny hunt near the Lakeside Park playground at 1 p.m. Participants are split into two age groups, 3 to 5 and 6 to 8 years old. Registration is at 12:30 p.m. A bounce house and face painting also will be available for the kids to work off their energies.

A live music tent in the park offers the sounds of local country-rock favorite Modern Day Drifters from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Picnic table seating will be available around the tent; bring folding chairs or blankets for additional seating for the day. Miss Door County and Miss Door County Outstanding Teen, Kylee Duessler and Emily Bley, will be on hand to meet the public from noon to 3 p.m.

For history buffs, the restored 1880s Erskine Root Cellar at the Erskine Rest Area will be open during the festival. It's one of only two times during the year the restored root cellar, which dates to the 1880s, is open to the public. Historical society members be on hand to talk about the cellar or give tours of it, and books on Jacksonport history will be for sale at the site.

Proceeds benefit the nonprofit historical society. For more information, visit jacksonporthistoricalsociety.org or facebook.com/JacksonportHistoricalSociety.

Aug. 3 and 4: Door County Classic & Wooden Boat Show, Sturgeon Bay

The Door County Maritime Museum plays host for a 33rd year to this show of classic boats from across the country as well as new boats built by hand on the grounds that weekend and a schedule full of other related events.

The show takes place on the grounds of, and in the water bordering, the museum, which sponsors the event each year. It features plenty of classic vessels to view on land and water as well as the popular Sikaflex Build-a-Boat Challenge that includes a water trials competition.

As for the watercraft on display, one can expect to see fiberglass and mahogany runabouts, sailboats, kayaks and canoes. Some are built professionally while others are handcrafted – in fact, amateur and home-built boats are this year's featured marque – but all registered entrants are competing for awards and ribbons that will be announced at the end of the show, including People's Choice awards and a special award for the amateur boat class.

To further recognize home boat builders, the show features a presentation in the museum at 2 p.m. Saturday by Roberta Hegy, a member of the Glacier Lakes Chapter (Wisconsin) of the Antique and Classic Boat Society who built a Glen-L Torpedo and will talk about how she did it.

Some boat owners will offer rides on the water to children and parents Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning (check at the information tent). Children's and family activities and crafts will be available Saturday, including model boat building.

The ever-popular Sikaflex Challenge remains one of the highlights of the weekend. The contest has two-person teams spend Saturday building and decorating a boat with limited materials and Sikaflex nautical adhesive, usually with some sort of fun, creative theme.

The teams then put their newly built boats into the Sturgeon Bay channel for the in-water sea trial/race at 1 p.m. Sunday, which usually brings varied results on their float-worthiness. Prizes are awarded for the boats themselves and their ability to stay above the water's surface.

The United States Coast Guard, which has its only Wisconsin station in Sturgeon Bay, will have members and equipment from the local station on hand to give demonstrations throughout the weekend.

The Peninsula Symphonic Band plays a "Salute to the Coast Guard" program at 4 p.m. Saturday on the waterfront promenade, and a Sunset Cruise and Classic Boat Parade takes place in the inner harbor between the Michigan Street and Maple-Oregon bridges at 5.

Those interested in maritime bargain hunting can visit the Boathouse Sale and Nautical Market, featuring gently used maritime gadgets, printed materials and items of all sorts.

A concession stand will be open throughout the festival, with fresh whitefish sandwiches joining the usual brats, burgers and beverages on the menu.

The museum, and its 10-story Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower with an observation deck on top, will be open during the festival for its normal admission prices, with an additional charge to tour the tug John Purves docked outside the museum.

The show also leads into Maritime Week, a traditional celebration from Aug. 2 to 9 of Sturgeon Bay's status as one of 30 official Coast Guard cities in the U.S. and its long maritime history.

The week's events include free tours of Coast Guard vessels and training ships that will be in the city (check the maritime museum's Facebook page for dates and time) and the 2024 Mariner and Coast Guard Person of the Year awards dinner Monday evening, Aug. 5, at the museum; reservations are required for the dinner. There also is a talk in the museum by lifelong commercial fisherman Charlie Henriksen of Henriksen Fisheries in Gills Rock at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 8. Admission to the talk is free with paid museum admission.

The Classis and Wooden Boat Show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4 at the Door County Maritime Museum, 120 N. Madison Ave., Sturgeon Bay. Show admission is free. For a complete schedule or more information, call 920-743-5958 or visit dcmm.org or dcclassicboatshow.com. For more on Maritime Week activities, visit dcmm.org/sturgeonbaymaritimeweek.

Aug. 4: Bloodys, Brews & Bacon, Sturgeon Bay

It's a Sunday morning, so it's a perfect time for folks to check out a variety of bloody marys (and their wild garnishes) created by local establishments, along with craft beers, breakfast pizza and bacon when Destination Sturgeon Bay holds its fourth annual "Bloodys, Brews & Bacon" on the patio at Sonny's Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria.

Guests can cast their votes for Best Bloody Mary and Best Garnish in Sturgeon Bay when they sample bloody marys from area taverns and restaurants. Local breweries will have craft brews to try, and bacon flights and Sonny’s breakfast pizza will be available.

Bloodys, Brews & Bacon runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sonny’s Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria, 129 N. Madison Ave., Sturgeon Bay. Tickets are $40 per person. For tickets, visit doorcountytickets.com; for more information on the event, call 920-743-6246 or visit sturgeonbay.net.

Aug. 10: Door County Festival of Fine Arts, Sister Bay

This 21st annual festival in Waterfront Park sponsored by the Sister Bay Advancement Association features more than 20 Wisconsin-based artists.

Those artists will not only show their artworks but also give demonstrations throughout the day. An all-ages art activities tent will feature well-known local stained glass artist Gary Chaudoir showing his techniques, as well as grab-and-go do-it-yourself art kits and the chance to paint a wooden goat, the animal that's come to represent Sister Bay. A free raffle will be held for art donated by seven of the participating artists.

As part of the festival, the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay has for a fourth straight year curated a Legacy Artist Exhibit of a total of 15 works by three artists from Sister Bay that will be on display during the event. The artists chosen for this year's exhibit are Daniel B. Anderson, Thomas Dietrich and Austin Fraser, who all have made significant contributions to the artistic landscape of Door County as their creations continue to inspire and captivate audiences. The exhibit is in Village Hall, next to the park.

The Door County Festival of Fine Arts runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Waterfront Park, next to Sister Bay Village Hall, 10693 State 42. For more information, call 920-854-2812 or visit sisterbay.com/events.

Aug. 16 to 18: Valmy Thresheree

Vintage tractors, farm machines, power equipment, a historic gas station, a tractor pull, and of course muddy pigs are the stars of the 41st annual Valmy Thresheree and Antique Machinery Show sponsored by the Northeastern Wisconsin Antique Power Association.

The antique and historic tractors and machines on hand, large and small, will be on display throughout the weekend. Most of them still run and many will demonstrate how they work, including threshers, combines, stone crushers, corn binders, huskers and shellers, a log sawmill, a shingle mill, hit-or-miss engines, a 1926 Sno-Go snow blower, an antique Maytag washing machine and a 1919 Ford Model T.

Among the tractors on display will be a 1937 Fordson Model N, a Ford Motor Co. tractor built at the company's plant in Dagenham, England, and used around the world, and a Huber orchard tractor, a type specially designed to navigate orchards without damaging trees, plants and crops.

The Thresheree recognizes a specific type or make of tractor as its featured marque each year, and this year it's Massey tractors, which also were featured in the 2017 event.

The original Massey company was founded in Ontario in 1847 by Daniel Massey under the name Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory, making mechanical threshers. The plant moved to Toronto in 1879 under the guidance of Daniel's son, Hart Massey, and, as Massey Manufacturing, became one of Canada's largest employers.

A merger in 1891 led to the company being renamed Massey-Harris Ltd., as well as becoming the largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the British Empire. The company also did contract work for the U.S. military during World War II, making not just tractors but light tanks and self-propelled artillery vehicles.

The firm made tractors under the Massey-Harris brand until 1958, when the name was changed to Massey Ferguson after a 1953 merger with Ferguson Co. Tractors continue to be sold under the Massey Ferguson name to this day.

The Thresheree opens at 6 p.m. Aug. 16 with free admission that day and music and dancing in the barn from 7 to 11.

Activities on Aug. 17 include a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m., an antique tractor pull (machines from 1955 or earlier, registration from 8:30 to 9 a.m.) at 11:30 a.m. and a chainsaw competition at noon (registration at 11 a.m.). Also, the Jerry Voelker Orchestra provides music for a barn dance from 2 to 5 p.m. and a polka mass at 5:30. Country dance band Eight Second Ride closes the day's event with music from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The Sunday of the Thresheree features a breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m.; a Lutheran church service at 8:30 a.m.; children's activities starting at 10 a.m. that offer a children's pedal tractor pull, "Little Farmer" dress-up contest and a straw stack hunt; a garden tractor pull also at 10; and the popular Cavalcade of Power antique machinery parade at noon.

At 3:30 p.m. Aug. 18, one of the weekend's most popular attractions gets underway – the mud pig wrestling competition. Teams of four humans attempt to catch a pig and place it on top of a barrel in less than one minute. Judges keep their eyes on the pigs to keep their heads above water and keep them as safe as possible. Preregistration is required for participants.

The Thresheree takes place on the grounds at 5005 Country View Road, Valmy (north of Institute). Admission is free on Aug. 16, $10 for the weekend for ages 13 and older, which includes a souvenir button. Food and refreshments are served throughout the event (no carry-ins allowed). For more information, including registration for the tractor pulls or mud pig wrestling, call 920-559-0466 or visit valmythresheree.com or facebook.com/TheValmyThresheree.

Aug. 18: Belgian Kermiss, Brussels

Eat like a Belgian and learn a little about their long history in Door County when the Belgian Heritage Center hosts its annual Belgian Kermiss from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 18.

A kermiss is a traditional Belgian celebration open to the whole community to give thanks after the harvest is completed, featuring Belgian food, beer, music and camaraderie. Relatives and friends would come from neighboring areas to partake of the abundance of food.

Belgian cuisine at this kermiss includes booyah, a type of slow-cooked chicken stew that's more hearty and vegetable-loaded than the usual soup; trippe, a Belgian sausage similar to bratwurst but with cabbage ground in to give it its unique flavor; jutt, a sort of Belgian mashed potatoes with cabbage, veggies and other foods blended in; and traditional Belgian pies and tortes.

Hamburgers also will be available, as will ice cream made on site by using the power drive of a tractor. Craft breweries Thumb Knuckle Brewing Co. in Luxemburg and Noble Roots Brewing in Green Bay will offer beers.

Antique farm equipment will be on display and give demonstrations and tours will be given of the historic 1894 schoolhouse on the campus. Classic rock band Mad Cats performs at noon.

New this year is a Mystery Treasure Safe Raffle, joining the popular Hunter's Raffle, silent auction and bucket raffle, all for a variety of gifts donated by local businesses and individuals.

The Belgian Heritage Center is in the former St. Mary of the Snow Church at 1255 County DK, Brussels. Kermiss admission is free, and all proceeds benefit the center and its ongoing projects. For more information, call 920-825-1328 or visit belgianheritagecenter.org or facebook.com/belgianheritagecenter.

Aug. 24: Blues on the Bay, Ellison Bay

A Saturday afternoon of blues returns to Door County with the only blues festival on the Peninsula, featuring a popular local bluesman and three top blues bands from Milwaukee and Chicago, one including a Green Bay guitar slinger who became a Chicago blues legend.

And it's for a cause, too, with all funds going to Door County Secret Santa, a local group that raises money to anonymously pay heating bills for struggling Door County families.

The lineup features local artist Pete Thelen, WAMI-nominated Milwaukee blues trio Jonny T-Bird and the MP's, the Milwaukee-based soulful vocals of Cameron Webb, and full-tilt Chicago blues with the Cash Box Kings, featuring vocalist Oscar Wilson, harmonica whiz Joe Nosek and guitarist Billy Flynn, the Green Bay native who made his name in Chicago alongside blues greats like Jimmy Dawkins, Sunnyland Slim and the Legendary Blues Band.

Blues on the Bay takes place from noon to approximately 7 p.m. at Community Park, 11953 State 42, Ellison Bay. The festival takes place rain or shine; a large tent will be on site in case of rain (or too much sun). Parking at the park is not available to festivalgoers except those with mobility needs, but free parking with shuttle service is at the Liberty Grove Historical Society Museum, 11831 State 42 (at the top of the hill just south of Ellison Bay). Concertgoers should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets for seating. Food from the Savor BBQ Co. and Papa B's food trucks is available along with beverages.

Admission is free, although a $20 donation is suggested for Door County Secret Santa. For more information, visit facebook.com/ellisonbayblues.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: August festivals in Door County celebrate cherries, boats, tractors, booyah and more