[00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: You know, it’s fitting that I’m launching this episode today, January 21st, 2025, since the number of schools are closed due to cold weather. It’s unbelievably cold. It’s so cold. I consider myself a cold weather animal, but No sir, I don’t like it. You know what I do like? I like warmer weather, I like hanging out on the couch under a blanket when it’s negative 16 degrees outside, and I like West Bend’s Bockfest.
This week, Carissa Barnes, Communications Director for the City of West Bend, joins me to talk about their second annual Bockfest celebration, which is happening at West Bend’s Regner Park on Saturday, March 1st, 2025. Last year was bonkers, in a good way. I saw so many friends, the weather was perfect, and everyone should experience getting their beer poked.
some time in their life. And I’ll let you figure out what that means during this interview. With that, here are 15 minutes on Bockfest 2025 with Carissa Barnes here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Carissa Thank you so much for coming in today. We are in the thick of cold weather season here, and, Exactly. And as this, as this podcast episode. Launches, just had the winter warm up in downtown West Bend. So we’re all looking forward to warmer weather. And it’s time to look forward to some more outdoor events.
So that’s where Bockfest comes into play, and that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Sound good?
[00:01:44] Carissa Barnes: Sounds good. All right.
[00:01:46] Fuzz Martin: So can you first tell us what Bockfest is? Just give us an overview for those who maybe didn’t get to experience the first one.
[00:01:53] Carissa Barnes: Bockfest celebrates the end of winter, and the start of spring with traditional, German festivities.
So for our event specifically, though, it’s really focused around Bock beer, so, we’ll have Bock beer there as well as other beers, but the idea behind it is that, you can get your Bock beer fire poked, which would more or less caramelize your beer, so it’s an interesting taste and flavor. And that’s kind of what makes Bockfest unique.
[00:02:18] Fuzz Martin: Yea, Yea, absolutely. And it’s, uh, it’s a total experience too so it tastes caramelized and, and good and also, um, they’re sticking a hot fire poker in your beer.
[00:02:28] Carissa Barnes: Yes, exactly.
[00:02:30] Fuzz Martin: So, which is not an experience that most of us get on a, Regular basis. How did it get started? Bockfest this is the second year of Bockfest right?
[00:02:37] Carissa Barnes: Yes, so this will be our second year. The first year really came with, the Tourism Commission has a yearly grant, that they were really, um, pushing for, the community to come up with new events within the community to really drive tourism. specifically overnight stays. So, Bock Fest, the idea came out about with Visit West Bend, to really create that new event for the community.
In addition, they received a GEM grant from, Travel Wisconsin.
[00:03:06] Fuzz Martin: Sure. Yeah. Um, and so that helps to fund this kind of event to help bring more individuals into West Bend, as you said, to drive tourism. They always say heads in beds, right?
[00:03:16] Carissa Barnes: Yes, heads in beds. Um, and then this year we got really lucky.
The Tourism Commission saw how successful the event was and, they decided to, put dollars towards it again. So we will have funding from the Tourism Commission as well as we received some small funding from the GEM grant once again.
[00:03:33] Fuzz Martin: Great. Excellent. So let’s talk about, what that success means, right?
So when you bring individuals in for this event, It doesn’t just help the event, right?
[00:03:42] Carissa Barnes: Yes. The main idea, I guess, for Bockfest is yes, to have fun, enjoy the beer, everything like that. But we also have, the opportunity to really drive traffic to West Bend. One of the perks of getting a ticket to Bockfest is you get a 5 coupon to downtown businesses, that are participating.
[00:04:01] Fuzz Martin: Are those the Bocks bucks?
[00:04:02] Carissa Barnes: Those are the Bock bucks. The Bock bucks, yeah. Yep. Um, and it’s really a coupon that allows you. to, visit one of our participating businesses. Most of them are downtown and we’re really trying to, bring that traffic back to downtown, spend some funding there, as well as hopefully stay overnight at one of our hotels.
[00:04:19] Fuzz Martin: Sure. So, people spend money at the restaurants and shops and hotels and it helps, the machine.
[00:04:25] Carissa Barnes: Yes! Exactly.
[00:04:26] Fuzz Martin: Uh, very good. So. Last year was the first event, and as you said, it was very successful. And obviously, being the first event, you guys learned some stuff. What, what kind of new things are we expecting to see this year at, at BockFest?
[00:04:39] Carissa Barnes: We’re changing up the layout a little bit. Last year we had our food and beverage in one area, so we’re going to kind of separate them out as well as have more beer locations so that it’s all not located at one spot. We definitely want to make sure people are getting their beer as soon as possible so they can get it firepoked.
[00:04:56] Fuzz Martin: Yes. And there was, I mean, A lot of conversations happening in the line. I mean, there was, and it was a beautiful day last year as well.
[00:05:03] Carissa Barnes: It was beautiful.
[00:05:04] Fuzz Martin: So, it was
[00:05:04] Carissa Barnes: Knock on wood for this year.
[00:05:05] Fuzz Martin: Yes, exactly. Exactly. I would knock on this table, but then we’ll all hear it through the microphone. I’ll have to edit that out.
Um, but there’s the, the beer, and then there’s food. It’s German food, right? Yes. Is that the case? Let’s talk a little bit more about the fire poking. So somebody gets a beer. How does that process work?
[00:05:24] Carissa Barnes: We’re very thankful for our fire department. They’ll be volunteering and they more or less have a fire and they’re going to get their poker steaming hot and they put that right into the beer, into the mug that you actually get when you walk in the door.
And that really caramelizes the beer and creates this frothy caramelized. Goodness on top.
[00:05:45] Fuzz Martin: Good, very good. So this year, people are still getting the, is the glass like, stein? Yep,
[00:05:50] Carissa Barnes: we’re definitely going to do it again.
[00:05:51] Fuzz Martin: Alright, excellent! Yes, I have a very nice big stein in our house and looking forward to having another one this year. Live music is also a part of this event. Can you tell us about, what kind of music and things people can expect from an entertainment side?
[00:06:05] Carissa Barnes: We kick off the event at 11 a. m., with our local river city, Blaskapel. They were with us last year, very well known within our community. And then at 1230, we have Copperbox.
They’re out from Oshkosh, and they play a lot of familiar songs with kind of a fresh twist. And then we have the Squeezettes coming back again at 2 p. m., but this year our headliner is Molly B and the Squeeze Box with Ted Lang. She is an award winning vocalist, and will have a lot of high energy like we had last year.
[00:06:35] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. Awesome. Looking forward to that. And so what, what time does, so let’s, I, we didn’t even talk about the dates. This is happening on Saturday, March 1st, is that right?
[00:06:44] Carissa Barnes: Yep, March 1st at Regner Park.
[00:06:46] Fuzz Martin: And what time does it start?
[00:06:47] Carissa Barnes: 11 a. m.
[00:06:48] Fuzz Martin: Okay, and this is something you can’t just walk up to and buy tickets, right?
[00:06:52] Carissa Barnes: Yes, only advanced sales. That really helps us manage figuring out how many steins we need and all of that kind of stuff.
[00:06:59] Fuzz Martin: And you guys have some really cool merch this year that you can buy as well, right? Yep. Yes, I forgot, I bought something and I can’t remember what I bought. It is a 21 and older event, and you should leave the kids with the babysitter, right?
[00:07:11] Carissa Barnes: Yes. Yep. But we will have, our transportation shuttle again that will take you from downtown to Regner Park and back. So we’re really thankful for our sponsor, the Garden Lounge.
[00:07:22] Fuzz Martin: Very good. And then, There’s also some options for designated drivers as well, right?
[00:07:26] Carissa Barnes: Yep. So if you decide to be a designated driver, you can get a wristband and then you, any non alcoholic beverages you can get for free.
[00:07:33] Fuzz Martin: Very good. If somebody wants to buy tickets to this, first of all, what’s the deadline to do that and also where can they do so?
[00:07:40] Carissa Barnes: Yep. Um, that’s the Friday before, and that’s Bockfestwb. com.
[00:07:45] Fuzz Martin: All right. Bockfest is B O C K. F E S T W D B dot com. Um, thank you. There we go. Talking about those Bock Bucks again.
So you get that with your entry. You said it’s five, five Bock Bucks. Is that right? And then are they, where, where can they all be used?
[00:08:01] Carissa Barnes: There’s a full list on our website that you can check out. It’s a variety of downtown businesses as well as beyond downtown. But a lot of local restaurants, the specialty shops, those kind of things.
[00:08:11] Fuzz Martin: Sure. Okay. Excellent. Reflecting on last year’s Bockfest what were some of the biggest successes that you saw overall from, , both the event and tourism itself?
[00:08:22] Carissa Barnes: We were really proud to say that we had over, seven states that we actually saw traffic come to West Bend from. We had a decent amount of overnight stays, as well as, We reached our ticket goals, so that was really surprising for the first year, so we’re really thankful for that.
And some things that we are also going to do this year that’s a little different is instead of, cash for, beer and merch, we’re actually going to do tokens. So you purchase a, set of tokens and use that throughout the events. We’re hoping that will also speed up some of the lines and beer and all of that kind of stuff.
Sure. Not making
[00:08:55] Fuzz Martin: change and, and, uh, serving the beer and all that stuff as well. Yes. Oh, that’s a, that’s a great idea. And it’s great that it was so successful last year that these changes needed to be implemented and that you guys took that feedback and made them. It was a lot of fun and I’m sure it’s going to be a ton of fun again.
this year as well. So, looking ahead, what are some of the future aspirations of Bockfest?
[00:09:18] Carissa Barnes: We definitely want to grow it, and we’re really thinking of Regner Park as its entirety throughout the park. We would love to actually have two locations to have different music in different spots. Right now it’s really focused on polka music, which we absolutely love, but it’d be great to also have a different variety of music throughout the park.
[00:09:35] Fuzz Martin: Sure, to the Bockfest Rockfest? No. Oh, we can workshop that, Carissa. The, again, the website is Bockfestwb. com and you need to sign up before the, the Friday? You said the The
[00:09:48] Carissa Barnes: Friday before, I think that’s February 28th.
[00:09:50] Fuzz Martin: February 28th. Okay, very good. These kind of events are big generators for tourism and such like that.
So, Bockfest was created because you put out, something to A plea. Yeah, a plea to the community. And they gave you ideas and this is one of them that came out and it was great. Are there, are you still doing that? Are there more of those or was this just the one then?
[00:10:12] Carissa Barnes: In 2025 this year, the downtown West Bend association received the tourism grant for, their global fest.
Okay. as well as, from my understanding, the tourism commission would like to open it again for 2026 in hopes to find another organization that will step up and hopefully come up with a new idea.
[00:10:28] Fuzz Martin: Great, excellent. And again, as the more that these happen, the better it is for our local businesses and.
You as a community member or somebody outside the community get to have something fun to do. This has been great. The Downtown West Bend Association has been great at bringing events for downtown as well. And kudos to them. And, I just enjoy having something fun in the community.
I think it’s, it’s great for the community as a whole. to make good space of this beautiful park that’s here in West Bend during this time of year.
[00:10:58] Carissa Barnes: Yep, it’s definitely one in a million.
[00:11:01] Fuzz Martin: Carissa, thank you so much for coming in. We appreciate it and I look forward to seeing you. I will not be wearing lederhosen, but look forward to seeing you at Bockfest.
[00:11:09] Carissa Barnes: Thanks.
[00:11:10] Fuzz Martin: Thank you so much to Carissa Barnes of the City of West Bend for hanging out with me and talking about Bockfest. Fest 2025. It’s going to be a great time and you don’t want to miss it. So get your tickets at Bockfestwb. com today. Again, you got to buy them in advance. Speaking of advance, these episodes come on, on Tuesdays, subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or listen to them at fuzzmartin.
com. If you have an idea for a guest for the show, raise your beer poking hand and send me a note. You can email me fuzz at fuzzmartin. com, that is fuzz at fuzzmartin. com or use the form fuzzmartin. com slash guest, and they’ll come right to me. Next week, I’ll be joined by Steve Kennetts of Milwaukee Tool.
How cool is that? And with that, I’ll talk to you next Tuesday right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
