By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jun 15, 2023 at 5:31 PM Photography: Summerfest

Festival City is hopping this summer! OnMilwaukee's Festival Guide is brought to you by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Escape the heat and step inside! 

Every day at the Big Gig feels victorious – but attendees will have the chance to have a truly winning Summerfest experience on Saturday, July 8 with the Summerfest Big Win. 

From noon until 3 p.m. on the final day of the Big Gig, each person coming through the Summerfest gates will receive a entry ticket for the Big Win competition. All attendees have to do to enter into the giveaway is drop their ticket into the Big Win bin near the Summerfest midgate before 3 p.m. Then, at 4 p.m., Summerfest and Potawatomi will host the Big Win drawing at the Miller Lite Oasis, selecting five entrants to compete in a high-stakes on-stage game of Pong Blingo – aka a variation on Plinko – with a chance to win $1,000,000, a guaranteed share of $10,000 and stay-and-play packages courtesy of Potawatomi.

The winning won't end with the Pong Blingo game, either. After the Big Win drawing and game, one more ticket will be selected from all of the remaining entries, with this final bonus attendee earning a cool $1,000. 

Even if you don't get your name drawn during the Big Win or score the million dollars, this final day of Summerfest – Fan Appreciation Day, presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino – will come with some sweet perks. For one, all attendees who arrive between noon and 3 p.m. will get into the festival for free. During that time, in addition to getting free entry to the Big Gig, all fans will also receive a free admission ticket for next year's edition of Summerfest. 

For more information and details about the Summerfest Big Win, visit the festival's website. And for more info about the Big Gig's other experiences, activations and beyond, click here

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.