FOND DU LAC – The city's largest festival is almost here for its 45th year.
Walleye Weekend kicks off June 7 and continues through June 9, with tournaments, live entertainment and other activities throughout Lakeside Park.
Admission is free, and food and drink purchases directly support the volunteer-run festival and local non-profit partners. More than $200,000 a year, on average, goes back into the Fond du Lac community, according to Peter Wilke, executive director ofFond du Lac Festivals, the 501(c)(3) non-profit that organizes the festival.
VIP parking passes for parking inside the festival are available for $10 each day on hometowntickets.com. Free parking is available at Fond du Lac High School and the Macy Street Parking Ramp, with regularly scheduled shuttles offering transportation to and from the festival.
Here's more to know about what's planned.
Participate in or spectate fishing and sports tournaments
The Mercury National Walleye Tournament takes place June 8 and 9 from Oven Island, benefiting walleye conservation on Lake Winnebago and beyond. A live leaderboard will be available onmercurynational.com.
The Mercury Marine Family Fishing Tournament gets young fishers together starting at 8 a.m. June 8 for the kids' competition and June 9 for the family competition to see who in each age group can catch the heaviest fish. Advanced registration is encouraged atwalleyeweekend.comand equipment will not be provided.
June 8 challenges include the SSM Health Walleye Run/Walk, the High School Home Run Derby and the Strong Man/Woman competition. The Fondy Football Challenge June 9 challenges kids entering first through eighth grades on their football skills for Family Day.
The Basketball Skills Competition will start at 11 a.m. June 8 and noon June 9, for kids of all ages to test their skills with long-range shooting, speed lay-ups, passing obstacle courses and other challenges.
A June 8 beanbag tournament has a cash prize on the line, while a Bags & Littles bean bag tournament June 9 offers a chance to get kids in on the fun.
The Walley-ball Softball Tournament of high school students will run all three days, and a volleyball tournament will kick off at 8 a.m. June 8 and 9.
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Visit the food tents for lunch or treats
Food and drink tents throughout the park are run by volunteers for local organizations, each with their own signature menu item among their menu options.
These include gyros at Fond du Lac Firefighters Local 400, grilled cheese and cotton candy at Fond du Lac Noon Kiwanis, ice cream at Hope Lutheran Church, loaded nachos at Knights of Columbus, fried cheese curds at Morning Kiwanis of Fabulous Fond du Lac, pizza at Morning Rotary, County Fair Mac & Cheese at Noon Optimist Club of Fond du Lac, chicken wings at North Fond du Lac Oriole Nation Booster Club, and walking tacos at Fondy Food Pantry.
Lakeside Evening Kiwanis offers walleye in the form of a fish dinner, fish and chips, a sandwich or a wrap.
Catch a live music act at any of the three main stages
The first concert of the weekend will be rock and pop band Fall Back at 3 p.m. June 7 on the Grande Cheese Center Stage, co-sponsored by 107.1 The Bull. Dexter Road will present its rock and country act next on the stage at 7:30 p.m.
Wire & Nail will play the center stage at 12:30 p.m. June 9, followed by Chris Stapleton tribute band Tennessee Whiskey at 4:30 p.m. and Tim Gleason & The Ultimate Eric Church Experience at 7:15 p.m. The main music act June 9 on the center stage will be The Presidents at 3 p.m.
The Seth James Band — winners of last year's inaugural Breakout Band Contest — will play at 5:15 p.m. June 7 on the Mercury Marine Point West Stage, co-sponsored by 95.1/96.1 The Rock. Top 40 party band Boogie & The Yo-Yoz will follow at 7 p.m.
The west stage will also host 1980s and 1990s-style bands for June 8, including The Nix, That 90’s Band and The Glam Band. On June 9, Fiesta en Domingo will host salsa dancing lessons at noon followed by music from Los Jinetez del Rancho y La Distancia de Villa.
The Holiday Automotive East Stage will have Suzie and the Detonators June 7, as well as the "ultimate boy band tribute band" Boy Band Review playing hits from NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, New Kids on the Block and more.
Taylor Swift tribute band Taylor & the Anti-Heroes will start off the east stage's Saturday music acts at 11:30 a.m. with special guests Laura Peterson & The Old Souls. Rising Phoenix will play 1970s and 1980s party hits starting at 3 p.m., and The LoveMonkeys will play at 7 p.m.
To help close out the weekend, D. Willy & The Souvenirs will play the east stage at noon June 9, followed by Time Machine.
See who could win the second annual Breakout Band Contest
Several bands will play a 15-minute set from noon to 3 p.m. June 9 on the Grande Cheese Center Stage for the battle of the bands-style Breakout Band Contest.
Qualifying bands were selected based on a combination of quality of music, choice of music and energy, and will be featured on partnering radio stations.
The winning band will win $500, the Walleye Weekend 2024 “Breakout Band” trophy and the opportunity to perform at next year's Walleye Weekend.
See live animals on Oven Island and Pier Pups on Main Street
Michels Corporation Wild World of Animalson Oven Island will feature several animals throughout the weekend, including alligators, a snapping turtle, an albino monocle cobra, a European eagle owl, a blue and gold macaw, an African spotted leopard and more.
Pier Pups Canine Dock Jumping will start at 3:30 p.m. June 7 and continue through the weekend on Main Street.
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Bring the kids to one of the family-friendly activity spots
The festival grounds will include three activity-filled areas for kids: FamilyLand near the playground, Imagination Island on Fountain Island, and the Sports Corner near Frazier and Promen drives.
New for 2024 will be a visit from Dino Encounters, featuring a life-like T-Rex meet and greet, as well as dinosaur puppets, stationary dinosaur rides, an inflatable T-Rex skeleton obstacle course, fossil digs, and themed puzzles and games. The activities will be available 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 8 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 9 in FamilyLand.
FamilyLand will also have a new touch-a-truck event, offering an opportunity to get up close with and learn about large excavation equipment, including a dump truck and a dozer.
Newcomers on Imagination Island are the Align Cloud Nine bird and dog show, henna skin art, and a sing-along and Princess Bubble Party with some princesses from Princess My Party.
The Grow the Sport Disc Golf Challenge is new to the Sports Corner this year.
Returning activities include sports inflatable games, a giant sandbox, face painting, Matt’s Magic Show and Balloon Artistry, and a visit from Weaver the Dock Spider.
The full list of activities is available at walleyeweekend.com.
Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her atdlemke@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Walleye Weekend starts June 7 for its 45th year in Fond du Lac
