Here are 16 ways to get free Summerfest tickets in 2022 as well as all the promo deals
Summerfest isn't just the largest music festival in the United States. It also has some of the lowest general-admission ticket prices you'll find anywhere.
And sometimes, you don't even have to pay at all.
Over the past three years, an average of nearly 15% of festivalgoers have gotten into the festival for free through a series of promo deals, many of them supporting local nonprofits, according to Summerfest officials.
And 2022 will be no exception, with 16 freebie deals for the nine-day fest, running June 23 to 25, June 30 to July 2 and July 7 to 9.
Here's how you can get in at no charge to the Milwaukee music festival. Note that general admission doesn't include American Family Insurance Amphitheater shows or reserved seats for evening headliners at the BMO Harris Pavilion.
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June 23: Everyone who arrives between noon and 3 p.m. and donates at least two jars of peanut butter for the Hunger Task Force will get in free. And anyone who makes a $10 donation at hungertaskforce.org/summerfest through June 10 will receive an offer code for free admission that can be redeemed between noon and 3 p.m. June 23.
June 24: Everyone arriving between noon and 3 p.m. will get in free for Lou Malnati's Children's Fest Day. Bonus deals: Select vendors will offer food and beverage discounts.
June 25: The first 1,500 people who arrive between noon and 3 p.m. at the Mid Gate and donate new deodorant, feminine hygiene products and/or socks (a minimum $10 value) will get in free. All donations will go to Mary Lou's Closet, a program providing hygiene supplies for in-need youth in area public schools, and will specifically benefit the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County's community schools.
June 30: Pick 'n Save shoppers can get up to four free tickets for every $50 spent through May 17. The original receipt must be presented between noon and 6 p.m., with a limit of 12 tickets per receipt. Bonus deals: All beverages (excluding frozen drinks, speciality coffee drinks and smoothies) are also 50% off, and admission is $5 off, from noon to 6 p.m. General admission tickets are $5 at the gate from noon to 6 p.m. Also free tickets for the American Family Insurance Amphitheater show at 5:30 p.m. that night — with Disturbed, Lamb of God, Chevelle and New Medicine — will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, beginning at noon, at the WHQG-FM (102.9) trailer near the main entrance of the amphitheater.
July 1: All active-duty military personnel and veterans who present a valid military ID, copy or a photo of a DD-214 form or a driver's license with a veteran classification get in free through 6 p.m., along with up to four family members. July 1 is also Military Appreciation Day, with a ceremony at 3 p.m. at the Generac Power Stage that includes a speech from Bronze Star recipient Keni Thomas.
The first 2,000 people who donate three nonperishable food items (cooking oil and fruit snack packs, low-sugar applesauce and mandarin oranges preferred) to the Mid Gate between noon and 3 p.m. also get in free, with donations benefiting the Kinship Community Food Center.
July 2: The first 2,500 people who donate new or gently used children's books (minimum $10 value) at the Mid Gate through 3 p.m. get in free. Picture books and books for early readers through age 10 preferred, with all books being donated to Next Door.
July 7: The first 2,000 people who show up before 3 p.m. at the Mid Gate and donate three nonperishable food items (canned fruits and vegetables preferred) get in free. The food is to be donated to the Hunger Task Force. And everyone age 60 and up who shows up between noon and 4 p.m. gets in free. Bonus deals: Seniors who get in free will receive a $2 off voucher for a food or non-alcoholic beverage purchase valid for a purchase over $10. Wheelchairs also will be provided free while supplies last.
July 8: Everyone showing up between noon and 3 p.m. wearing a shirt or hat representing one of seven schools — Cardinal Stritch University, Carthage College, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater — gets in free. And all high school students who complete their FAFSA by July 8 will receive a free general-admission ticket.
July 9: Everyone arriving between noon and 3 p.m. gets in free, and the first 30,000 people through the turnstiles receive a free Summerfest general-admission ticket for 2023.
Ticket promos throughout Summerfest
Download the Summerfest app to receive a general-admission ticket valid on Thursdays and Fridays, while supplies last (10,000 tickets are being made available through the app).
Between May 25 and June 14, if you purchase $25 at area Pick 'n Save and Metro Market in a single transaction on Pepsi, Dietz & Watson, Red Bull, Palermo's, Klement's, Sargento and Koops' products, you will receive two free tickets. (Limit of four tickets per transaction, 12 tickets redeemed per day.) Visit picknsave.com/summerfest and metromarket.net/summerfest for a list of applicable products.
Everyone who donates blood at a Versiti Blood Center mobile drive in May gets one free ticket, while supplies last.
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How to get free Summerfest tickets, and all the promo deals in 2022
