Brat Fest

Brats & other tube-foods are prepped. 5/23/25 dwm

Brat Fest started when Metcalfe's grocery store decided to show their appreciation for customers with a party in 1983. It was held in the store parking lot.

It evolved into a fundraiser for local charities and became so big it moved to the county fairgrounds in 2005.

According to the Brat Fest website, they've sold more than 4 MILLION brats and raised more than $2 MILLION for those local charities.

Music became part of the celebration along the way, and there has been a parking lot of carnival rides available since we've moved to Madison. The Festival's Wikipedia site says in 2015 more than 100 bands performed on four stages during Brat Fest.

Each brat is hand-wrapped. 5/23/25 dwm

 I arrived five minutes early for my 5 am volunteer shift.

 The job I signed on for 'runner.' 24 grills had been fired up an hour before I arrived and sausages were carried out, one big tray at a time. 

 The morning shift supported a promotion urging locals to "Take a Brat to Work day." There are folks who pick up a few, while entire departments and some companies buy enough for everybody.

 As a runner, my job was receiving a pan of just-off-the-grill brats and taking them to a wrapping station that needed more to wrap. 

When stations fill a tray with wrapped brats (photo above left), a member of the crew raised a hand to get someone to retrieve the tray and place it in the warmer or give it to another runner who either got one from the warmer or someone like me.

Here's a look at the process from the grill to the wrapping table to warm box to the customer. I'm the second person carrying the brats. 

In front of warming boxes. 5/23/25 dwm

After three hours of running, a fellow volunteer from our church finished his shift and asked me to take his spot tracking the unwrapped brats, impossible brats, veggie brats, chicken brats, and hot dogs waiting in the warmer until a wrapping station was ready for them. 

When a tray was requested it was my job to know which tray had been in the longest and get it to the wrapping station. It wasn't a tough job, but with changes every few minutes, it took a while to get comfortable.

I learned hours after my shift that 22,816 brats went to work Friday morning. That's a great start to the day.

1900 volunteers signed up for one or more shifts over the festivals 3-day run. It opens today at 10 and closes at 7 tonight the website for details. 

While I was uncertain when the day started if I'd do it again, by the time I was done, I was looking forward to my next time wearing a bright yellow shirt with a smiling brat.

The serving station for Take a Brat to work day. 5/23/25 dwm

Cars started lining up at 3 am. 5/23/25 dwm

Some of the 1900 volunteers at Brat Fest 2025. 5/23/25 dwm