Mid-week holiday means two weekends of visitors for Minocqua

MINOCQUA, Wis. (WSAW) - Heading to Minocqua for the 4th of July? You won’t be alone.

Krystal Westfahl is the president and CEO of Let’s Minocqua Visitor’s Bureau + Chamber of Commerce. She said since the 4th lands in the middle of the week, they’re expecting two full weekends of visitors, plus numerous day visitors for the 4th.

Westfahl said in terms of holiday business, the 4th of July is always high on the scale.

“July generally, overall hits really high and the first week of August. You make hay while the sun shines. And that’s what our businesses are doing. They’re taking every advantage they get when the summer hits to make all the money they can,” she said.

She said day travelers won’t have much to worry about when it comes to road construction as the work that was happening in Hazelhurst is now finished.

“So really, it’s just when the highway constricts down to those two lanes [on Highway 51], it starts to kind of go a little bit slower,” said Westfahl.

Events on the 4th include a kiddie parade that starts at 3:45 p.m., and the official parade at 4 p.m. in downtown Minocqua. Then at 7 p.m. is a waterski show at 7 p.m. in the Aqua Bowl. Fireworks take place at dark over Torpy Park.

Click here to view the fireworks viewing map.

If you plan to attend the parade, she said the line-up starts are 3 p.m. in the ball diamond across from the visitor’s center.

She said float planes will also fly over during the parade. It’s one of her favorite events.

“There’s nothing better than that classic Fourth of July parade. And we have the Never Forgotten Honor Flight veterans that participate with us every year and are highlighted at the beginning of the parade. We usually have about 70 floats that participate. And they span the distance. The great thing is we get to shut down Highway 51 for the afternoon. Not a lot of communities can say they can shut down a major highway for the Fourth of July parade. So it makes it really fun for everyone,” she said.

She said part of Minocqua’s charm includes that it’s a legacy destination, meaning that generations of families have been visiting for years.