In the late 1960's Dennis Hill founded Art Fair USA as a venue to display and sell his own hand crafted ceramics. Outdoor shows without canopies, tents, port-a-johns, electricity, or concessions were the norm for that time. Space fees were inexpensive, displays were simple, setup was easy, exhibitor camaraderie was high; everyone had fun, and everyone made money. Eventually Dennis moved his event indoors to minimize the problem of inclement weather. In 1970 "The First Annual Wisconsin Festivals of Arts" featured 185 of the best fine art exhibitors from throughout the Midwest. Thousands of dollars in awards were presented including a first prize of a one week trip to Hawaii.

In 1977 Dennis formed Wisconsin Festivals as a corporation to produce the "Lakefront Air & Water Show" at the Milwaukee lakefront. While the concept was brilliant, the weather did not cooperate and the event was a financial disaster. In the late 1970's Rummagefest at the Summerfest grounds was added to the portfolio featuring a mix of art, craft rummage, food and music. Art Fair USA transformed into Craft Fair USA due to customer demand. In 1978 the Holiday Craft Fair was held in the North Exposition Hall of the State Fair Park. The following year it was combined with the State Fair's Gift Show and became the Holiday Craft & Gift Show. In the 1980's the show grew to more than 640 exhibitors and attendance reaching 50,000 for the three day event. More shows were added and In the art and craft "golden days" of the late 1980's we produced seven annual events with a combined annual attendance of over 130,000 patrons.

Quite often the events received awards as the Best 200 Craft shows in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine, the leading publication for artists and craftsmen in the country. The award is presented to the 200 finest art and craft events from over 10,000 that are held each year throughout the nation.

In 1994 after the passing of founder, Dennis Hill, two of his longtime employees Karie Bennett and Loring Talsky took over the operation of the shows. Both are award winning artists who had exhibited in hundreds of shows throughout the Midwest.

In the fall of 2002 the new Exposition Center at State Fair Park opened with new opportunities, new challenges, and much higher facility fees. In 2004 a few of the Craft Fair USA shows were moved to the Waukesha County Exposition Center to appeal to the new families in the western suburbs.

Sadly the "golden days" of art and craft fairs is behind us. Consumer trends are rapidly changing and pushing away from original art and craft work. A new generation with different values and tastes are choosing low priced, mass produced "artwork" to decorate their homes. Wide screen TV's and expensive game systems occupy their leisure time. Both the demand for good quality handcrafted arts and crafts as well as the dedicated individuals that have the time, patience and talent to produce the work is at an all time low. Most of the other consumer driven shows such as sport shows, home shows, antique shows and boat shows are also being severely affected in this changing marketplace. It is an unfortunate, but escalating decline is reaching across the industry.

While we have tried to stem the tide for the last few years, we feel that we can no longer produce quality events with current declining economic conditions. We have therefore decided to close Wisconsin Festivals Inc. and discontinue our events. We have enjoyed serving Milwaukee and its surrounding communities for the last 42 years. We would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for the many years you have supported our events and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

Wisconsin Festivals Inc.