After a year off, Crusherfest in South Milwaukee is back on June 3

Crusherfest is slamming into South Milwaukee June 3-4 and there are many activities and special guests planned for sports entertainment fans.

The smell of sausages and the sounds of polka will fill the air at the event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, at 1101 Milwaukee Ave. in the newly built Bucyrus Commons space.

A few special guests will be signing autographs from 1-4 p.m. both days, including "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Ted DiBiase, Al Snow, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Marty Jannetty.

DiBiase, who is an ordained minister, will also participate in a "Polka Mass" at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Country/pop artist Jessie Haines will play on the Bucyrus Commons main stage plus other artists including Larry Lynne, Size 5's, Bad Behavior, Fire & Ice, JeffWinard, The Squeezettes, Blues Addiction and Bad Boy throughout the event.

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Da Crusher's daughters, Dawn Lisowski and Sherri Brozoski are having a "Battle of the Buns" over the top sausage from South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats, 1200 Milwaukee Ave. Dawn is backing her creation, the garlic and beer brat, while her sister, Sherri, prefers her cheese and beer polish sausage.

Both sausages are available for purchase and tasters can vote on Crusherfest.org through May and at the festival. The winner will be crowned the official sausage of Crusherfest 2023.

Many other food options will be available including the culinary delights of Bakehouse 23, Sweet Delight, Carrie's Crispies, Short and Sweet Desserts, BeBe's Bistro, Smokin’ C's, The Gutt Truck, Smilin Dawgs and Atwood HWY BBQ. The South Milwaukee Lions Club will also have a food stand.

Many merchandise vendors will be selling their wares at Crusherfest including Hollyville, Thurston's, Lake Country Cigars, The Lamb Shop, All in a Jar, Minimalist Martha, Say It Louder, Rhubarb and Ice, TwistedTree Creations, Ron Dunn Art, Finch's Vendor Expo and Bellajack Design.

Kenny Jay, known as the "Sodbuster," will be honored with a memorial match and proclamation. Part of Crusherfest from the start, Kenny Jay died in February 2023. Memorial sausages and T-shirts will be available for purchase.

Speaking of wrestling, the third annual Bolo Beatdown wrestling event in association with Great Lakes Championship Wrestling and the Midwest Independent Association of Wrestling, will take place both days with bell time at 6 p.m. June 3 and 2 p.m. June 4. Tickets are $10.

Yes, the Mr. Saloon competition will take place at 1 p.m. June 4 where participants compete for a belt in varied contests including the Crusher pose, keg holding, throw the drunk, a sausage eating contest and beer drinking contest.

Participants must be over the age of 21 and bring a photo ID.

The event is in celebration of South Milwaukee native Reggie "Da Crusher" Lisowski who wrestled professionally for over 40 years. Lisowski won the AWA Heavyweight Championship three times and was a five-time AWA Tag Team Champion with Dick the Bruiser.

Lisowski died of a brain tumor in 2005 but is immortalized with a life-sized bronze statue in the heart of his hometown. A $40,000 GoFundMe campaign financed the statue which was revealed during the inauguralCrusherfest in 2019.

Crusherfest had to tap out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in October 2021. The event was canceled in 2022 in part due to construction of the Bucyrus Commons event space which was completed in May 2023.

Now, Crusherfest can take full advantage of the new facilities.

Contact Erik S. Hanley [email protected]. Like his Facebook page,The Redheadliner, and follow him on Twitter@Redheadliner.

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