[00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: Party people! Thank you for tuning in to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Hope your week is going well so far. It is only Tuesday, but I hope it’s great from here on out, no matter how it’s going. So we’re here in the middle of February. The weather is kind of like a Katy Perry song right now, hot and cold. But I like that it’s staying lighter later.
It makes this whole weather thing feel more tolerable. Speaking of getting closer to warmer weather, though, this week, Jay Shambeau and Jess Wildes from the City of West Bend hop in the studio to talk about Bachfest in West Bend. Their inaugural event is taking place on Saturday, March 2nd at Regner Park, and it’s going to be a whole lot of fun.
And with that, here are 15 minutes on Bachfest. With Jay Shambeau and Jess Wildes right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Jess, Jay, thank you so much for coming back on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Always happy to have you guys here. So thanks for having us. So Bachfest is coming up and I know we briefly mentioned in a city update, I don’t know, a few months ago, but it sounds like an awesome, fun event for listeners who might not be familiar with what Bachfest is.
Can you explain? What is Bach Fest and what people can expect.
[00:01:34] Jay Shambeau: Bachfest is the German celebration of the end of winter, beginning of spring. They can expect a really fun time at Regner Park. It’s our premier park, and we’re going to hold it rain, snow, sleet, or shine on March 2nd.
[00:01:47] Fuzz Martin: Awesome.
[00:01:48] Jay Shambeau: It’s, um, as I mentioned, the German celebration of the end of winter, beginning of spring, and it’s really focused around Bach beer.
Bach beer is brewed at the end of the brewing season and then hangs out all winter long and then comes to life. And at a festival like this, uh, we’ll have fire tenders there that will be able to poke your Bach beer that you’re going to receive and with a red hot fire poker and it kind of caramelizes the beer into a awesome toasted marshmallow tasting.
[00:02:17] Fuzz Martin: So we’re not going to light it up here in the studio, but I see that you did bring a, uh, a torch and a fire poker and the Stein. The Stein is actually much bigger than I was expecting for an event like this. Is that the Stein that, uh,
[00:02:29] Jess Wildes: Yep.
[00:02:29] Fuzz Martin: You get when you sign up for BockFest?
[00:02:31] Jess Wildes: Yes. Every 15 ticket includes a 25 ounce glass beer stein.
It has the BockFest logo on it. It’s really nice. So once people check in at the event, they’ll be given their glass. And they’ll also be given 5 in BockBucks, which is sort of a coupon to be able to spend throughout the weekend at participating businesses throughout West Bend and the downtown.
[00:02:54] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:02:54] Jess Wildes: The beer mug, beer stein is It’s included and you can purchase the beer from 1840 at the event and then you sort of pour it in there and bring it over to the fire tender if you want it to get poked and we’ll have many off duty firemen who are manning the fires and we’ll have these sort of stainless steel fire pokers Piping hot, and they’ll put it in the beer, and it’s gonna be really fun.
[00:03:16] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. So that froths it up and caramelizes it, you said? And gives it another, like, extra body, I guess, right?
[00:03:22] Jay Shambeau: Yeah, the, it’s really not a dark beer. So I, I guess maybe we should talk about that for a second. Yeah, yeah. Because some people have said to me, well, I, I don’t know if I, I really don’t like dark beer, or I don’t think I’m a heavy beer guy.
I don’t really want to come. A, it’s not that it’s really a light beer, and it does when it’s, when it’s toasted with the red hot fire poker, it caramelizes a bit and it, it’s kinda got this cool warm for minute taste and then back to cold, you know, regular beer. Sure. And it’s, it’s not very heavy at all.
It’s Bach beer is a, is a lighter beer. 1840 will also have some other beer opportunities for you to try.
[00:03:56] Fuzz Martin: All right. Excellent. So, uh, so 1840 is, is brewing the Bach beer for this event.
[00:04:02] Jay Shambeau: They are.
[00:04:02] Fuzz Martin: All right. And so for those who don’t know yet, 1840 Brewing Company is going in. They’ve got a, is it a tap room that’s going in?
At the edge of 7th and Washington in the district, uh, we’ve been waiting. We’ve seen the signs up. We’re waiting for, for that to open. Any word on when. 1840s Taproom may be opening?
[00:04:23] Jess Wildes: As soon as practical.
[00:04:24] Jay Shambeau: Okay. All right. They’ll be open very soon. They’ve had some building setback challenges, but they’re, they’re really close and they’re excited to be a part of West Bend.
I know that they are looking for employees and have hired a bunch of people and they’re going to be ready to roll really soon in West
[00:04:37] Fuzz Martin: Bend. Sure. I did see the now hiring signs up and just, uh, cause people have asked me and I know we brought it up in the last time we talked about this. When it comes to that area, we’ll get back to Bachfest here in a second.
When they do open. The great place to park there is on the south side of 33 and then walking using the, the Riverwalk, right, to walk underneath the bridge?
[00:04:57] Jess Wildes: Yep. So, sort of behind BMO Bank, there’s a large, really nice parking lot that was just recently repaved and reconfigured as part of the Riverwalk process, and there’s a pedestrian underpass under 33.
It’s literally like a block to get to their door from there. There’s also going to be some parking along Main Street. Once the entire project’s done, the second lane will reopen. There’s parking there. There’s some nominal parking in front of Tap Room itself as well.
[00:05:23] Fuzz Martin: Okay. All right. Very good. So let’s rewind it back to Bach Fest.
We’ve got this awesome beer from 1840, we’ve got the hot fire pokers, we’ve got the beer steins, the bock bucks, there’s gonna be music at this event as well, right?
[00:05:37] Jess Wildes: Absolutely. It’s a full day of outdoor polka music.
[00:05:41] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:05:41] Jess Wildes: I mean, and some of it’s more traditional and some of it’s a little more New Age polka.
[00:05:45] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:05:45] Jess Wildes: Yep, so it kicks off at 11, the event kicks off at 11, and the music does too. So the River City Blaskabels, that’s more of our local group. A large ensemble of polka players are going to be live on the Silvery Linings stage. They’ll play for about an hour, and then they’ll be followed by polka fusion at 1230.
And then the squeezettes start at 2 o’clock, which, you know, some of these bands, probably people have heard through other events in the city and over time have been really popular. And then headlining our event is the Alex Meixner Band, that’s at 3. 30, and it’s just a really lively kind of mix scene in, you know, 90s, 2000s music into polka.
Oh, awesome. It’s really high energy, super fun.
[00:06:27] Fuzz Martin: When you, uh, when you said, oh, people probably know these bands, I was resisting my My innate Wisconsin urge to say. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Um, and, uh, yes, but yes, definitely some, well-known names there. And I hear that this party then, after Bock Fest is moving down the street to the bend.
Right. And there’s the, what is it called? The uh, uh, Bockett and Roland, is that it? ?
[00:06:50] Jay Shambeau: Yeah. We’re really excited to partner with the band. They helped bring these bands to West Bend for us without. Partnering with them, we would not be able to have such a great music lineup. So the Squeezettes and the Alex Meixner Band will be holding another show at the Bend after.
It’s a separate ticketed event. You don’t have to attend both of them. So they’re, they’re hopeful to, to gain some folks that, you know, maybe don’t want to hang out outside with us at the initial party, but just want to come to theirs or vice versa. But again, partnering with the band is really going to make this an extra special event.
[00:07:19] Fuzz Martin: Perfect. In addition to the music, will there be food and things there as well at Bockfest? Okay.
[00:07:24] Jess Wildes: Yep. There’ll be German food, pretzels, brats, sausages. There’ll be other beverage options, like Jay mentioned, if somebody doesn’t drink black beer, they can drink something else, or non alcoholic beverages.
There’s also going to be outdoor games, and a costume contest.
[00:07:39] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. Okay, great. I, now I need, now I need, need to get laid or hosen, right? Is that, is that a rule? Absolutely.
[00:07:45] Jay Shambeau: It’s not a rule, but it’s encouraged. Alright. Our, our friends at Park and Recreation are taking care of the food, so we’re working with Lori and her team for that.
[00:07:53] Fuzz Martin: Very good. And then, This event kind of spawned from a request that you guys had to the community to come up with a new event, right? Was that how this came to be?
[00:08:03] Jay Shambeau: Yeah, the Tourism Commission has been challenging community groups to come up with new events for the last few years and put some funding towards it, so the Tourism Commission did fund this event.
Jess can speak to the GEM grant that was also applied for and received, but so some initial monies assisted us kicking this off. That opportunity is going to be available again to the community for either another 2024 event or one planned in 2025. So anybody that’s out there thinking of something You know, a thousand people or more, we encourage you to make an application before the Tourism Commission.
If
[00:08:39] Fuzz Martin: they wanted to do that, where can they find information, or how should they do that?
[00:08:42] Jess Wildes: Sure, they can find that information on the city’s website under the Tourism Commission area.
[00:08:47] Fuzz Martin: Okay, alright, very good. This event is for people 21 and older, right? There’s no kids allowed here, no pets allowed, so get your babysitter.
And get yourself a designated driver.
[00:08:57] Jess Wildes: We will also have a shuttle. Oh, you will? Yeah, the Garden Lounge sponsored a shuttle that’s going to be taking place throughout the entire event that goes from Regner to the downtown to the town play suites and then Moa and then kind of back around.
[00:09:09] Fuzz Martin: Oh, awesome.
[00:09:10] Jess Wildes: Yeah.
So people can park downtown if they want and hit the shuttle to get over to the event and kind of make an entire day of it.
[00:09:17] Jay Shambeau: That’s wonderful. We’ll also have a wristband available for individuals that are willing to be the designated driver and they’ll receive free non alcoholic drinks as part of the event.
[00:09:27] Fuzz Martin: So this is the first year of Bach Fest. How have ticket sales been going? Pretty well?
[00:09:32] Jess Wildes: Yeah, ticket sales are really doing well. We’re looking. To be on track for over a thousand people. Pretty excited about that. We are fortunate to receive this GEM grant, that Jay mentioned, to help us market it to a much broader you know, region.
so we have people coming from seven different states right now, all over Wisconsin. Awesome,
[00:09:52] Fuzz Martin: and the idea is to get people, you know, like from a tourism side to come to West Bend, and that helps, uh, uh, with local businesses and helps get people to know and love West Bend, right?
[00:10:04] Jess Wildes: Yeah, absolutely. And that’s sort of why we’re doing the Bach Bucks too.
We really want people to get out and explore downtown and all of our businesses in West Bend.
[00:10:11] Jay Shambeau: Very good. And stay in West Bend as well. We want to generate hotel stays as part of this. We have several states represented already with ticket sales.
[00:10:19] Fuzz Martin: And that’s what kind of that hotel room tax, right, helps fund the engine that keeps people coming here and keeps businesses, uh, getting that, you know, people dining at the restaurants and shopping at their stores and things and obviously staying in their hotels and such, right?
If this is a success and it sounds like it’s going to be, is this something that you plan to do each year then?
[00:10:37] Jay Shambeau: Yes, we will definitely have this as an annual event.
[00:10:39] Fuzz Martin: Awesome, all right, very good. Last part, when we start talking about tickets, where can people buy tickets and do they need to get them in advance or can they get them at the gate?
[00:10:48] Jess Wildes: All tickets are advance sales only. So we encourage people to get them now or anytime leading up to the event. We’re going to close them off on Friday before. So they have three weeks from today as we’re recording this and tickets are available at bachfestwb. com. They’re 15 and they’re all available online.
[00:11:07] Fuzz Martin: Anything else that I missed on Bach Fest that you want to highlight?
[00:11:10] Jay Shambeau: Well, it would be sad to not mention Polka Polka Polka as part of this Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Polka Polka Polka is a TV state, is a show that is put on, on the local public TV, and Colleen has been interested in this event. She is, she is the mainstay of Polka Polka Polka.
Uh, she’s been promoting Bachfest for us already. And there is rumor that Colleen and Polka Polka Polka might be coming to videotape Bachfest and that will be featured at a future, on a future show.
[00:11:43] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. So we could all be a part of Polka Polka Polka. Now I have to get later. Yep,
[00:11:47] Jess Wildes: exactly. You gotta dress the part.
[00:11:49] Fuzz Martin: I wonder if Amazon can get them here for me quick enough. I’ll bet they can. Yeah, pretty fast. Perfect. Well, Jess, Jay, bachfestwdb. com. And the event is on Saturday, March 2nd, Regner Park, from 11 to 5, but you gotta get your tickets by Friday, March 1st, in order, online, in order to attend. Cool? Very cool.
Alright. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you so much for coming in. I’m looking forward to it. Have a babysitter. I’m all lined up to go, so, got my tickets and I’m Really looking forward to trying some hot poked BAC beer.
[00:12:26] Jess Wildes: Awesome. Thanks.
[00:12:27] Fuzz Martin: Thanks,
[00:12:27] Jess Wildes: Benna.
[00:12:28] Fuzz Martin: Thank you again to Jay Shambeau and Jess Wildes from the city of West Bend for joining me on this week’s episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Again, BAC Fest is on Saturday, March 2nd, starting at 11am at Regner Park. You have to get tickets ahead of time on BachFestWB. com, Bach is spelled B O C K, BachFestWB. com. Go there, do that now if you want to attend. If you have an idea for an episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz, you can email me, fifteenwithfuzzatgmail.
com, but be sure to spell out the word fifteen. Fifteenwithfuzzatgmail. com. You can also text me, 262 299 FUZZ. That’s 262 299 3899 and tell me who I should have on the show. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and or YouTube and you can also find the episodes all at 15withfuzz. com. New episodes come out on Tuesdays.
Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you again next time right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
