Chippewa Valley Festival Grounds get ready for Country Fest and Rock Fest

CADOTT, Wis. (WEAU) - It’s the perfect time of year to enjoy some live music outdoors, and the Chippewa Valley is home to some major music festivals.

Preparations are underway for the 36th annual Country Fest. Hannah Cole, Country Fest marketing director, said in two weeks, roughly 100,000 people will be in Cadott for the music festival.

“Right now there’s a lot of stuff going on the grounds. There’s things being built, new activities. Right now, we’re just kind of all hair on fire, getting grounds ready to be perfect for fans. But we’re so excited. This is what we plan for all year and we’re just ready for everybody to come back home,” Cole said.

Cole said people from all 50 states come to check out the country music festival known as the largest party in a hay field.

“It seems like in Wisconsin, we have a tendency to go out into a Friday night in a farm field, a friend’s field or whatever, and just have a good night and people don’t know what that looks like if you’re from out of state,” Cole said.

New this year, drink proceeds will benefit an area charity.

“Some of them will go to Joshua’s Camp, the Jayna Kelley Foundation and the Chapel Humane Association. So fans can drink and know they’re doing good,” Cole said.

For the Chippewa Valley Festival Grounds, Country Fest is just the beginning of a very busy summer.

“Country Fest will have 50 bands over the course of the weekend. There’s one main stage, then four side stages, but all of them will have acts regionally, nationally and locally. And then for Rock Fest, there’s 75 bands, five stages there as well,” Cole said.

As Country Fest and Rock Fest get closer, Cole said about 1,800 volunteers are needed to help fill shifts in ticket booths and pop-up tents.

“We look for bartenders, we look for security, we look for gates, anything and everything. If you’re looking to get into some shows, have a fun weekend. We would love to help,” Cole said.

Country Fest is June 22nd-24th. Headliners include Zach Brown Band, Jon Pardi, and Dan + Shay.

Rock Fest is July 13th-15th. Headliners include Slipknot, Pantera, and Godsmack.

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