By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Aug 11, 2023 at 3:01 PM Photography: Harley-Davidson Museum

The Great Milwaukee Summer is HERE! Your guide to what you'll be doing, where you'll be drinking, who you'll be hearing and how you'll be getting a sweet tan this summer is on OnMilwaukee. The Great Milwaukee Summer guide is brought to you by Educators Credit Union and Harley-Davidson Museum

The summer is sadly almost over – but that doesn't mean the party has to stop. Indeed, to celebrate our roaring and revved-up Milwaukee summer, the Harley-Davidson Museum will host a new family-friendly annual celebration: H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic, a free Labor Day weekend gathering serving up bikes, BBQ, bands and big H-D gear deals before saying goodbye to our favorite season. 

Hosted Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 at the H-D Museum, the H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic will feature an entire Labor Day weekend of summer excitement and excuses to not do anything remotely work-like – starting Thursday night with a special H-D Museum Bike Night showcasing the popular local band, The Screamin' Cucumbers, from 6-9 p.m., with The Cactus Bros., Bad Boy and Crossfire all set for the rest of the fest.

While they take the stage, bikes and Harleys of all sorts will hit the blacktop and beyond around the H-D Museum, with a number of awesome demos and races, such as Flat Out Friday Boonie Bike Races on Saturday and Division BMX stunt shows taking flight numerous times during the end-of-summer spectacular. And for something to remember this super summer by, real custom tattoos will also be available courtesy of The Skin Museum throughout the H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic as well. 

As for the Q part of the H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic, the event will serve up delicious barbecue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and Sunday. But the main course, however, will get cooking at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2, when the H-D Museum and MOTOR Bar & Restaurant will serve up a scrumptuous pig roast. The feast will keep forking out delicious pork until 3 p.m. that afternoon. 

And what better way to celebrate the end of summer than with saving some sweet cash? So, as a special Labor Day gift, throughout the four-day H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic – 4-9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31, then 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. the rest of the weekend – the H-D Museum will host a H-D Factory Outlet end-of-the-season sale in The Garage, featuring all sorts of awesome shirts, swag and style for discounted prices. 

Here's the full schedule of shows and events set for the H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic:

Thursday, Aug. 31

  • 4-9 p.m. – H-D Factory Outlet sale in The Garage
  • 4-9 p.m. – Tattoos by The Skin Museum in The Garage
  • 5-9 p.m. – Bike Night at MOTOR Bar & Restaurant and The Can Room
  • 6-9 p.m. – Screamin' Cucumbers

Friday, Sept. 1

  • 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – H-D Museum open for self-guided and audio tours
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – H-D Shop open
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – H-D Factory Outlet sale in The Garage
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Tattoos by The Skin Museum in The Garage
  • 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – BBQ in the motorcycle plaza and The Can Room
  • Noon to 3 p.m. – The Cactus Bros.

Saturday, Sept. 2

  • 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – MY23 H-D motorcycle demos
  • 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – H-D Museum open for self-guided and audio tours
  • 10 a.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – H-D Shop open
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – H-D Factory Outlet sale in The Garage
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Tattoos by The Skin Museum in The Garage
  • 11 a.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Pig roast at MOTOR Bar & Restaurant and The Can Room
  • Noon to 3 p.m. – Bad Boy
  • 1 p.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • 2 p.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • 3-5 p.m. – Flat Out Friday Boonie Bike Races and H-D Museum 15th Year Ripper
  • 5:30-8:30 p.m. – BBQ & Blues at MOTOR Bar & Restaurant south patio

Sunday, Sept. 3

  • 8-10 a.m. – Pancake breakfast outside MOTOR Bar & Restaurant
  • 8-11 a.m. – The Big Unit's Fisher House Poker Run ride staging and registration
  • 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. – The Can Room opens for bloody mary bar and coffee
  • 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – H-D Museum open for self-guided and audio tours
  • 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – H-D Shop open
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – H-D Factory Outlet sale in The Garage
  • 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Tattoos by The Skin Museum in The Garage
  • 11 a.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • 11 a.m. – The Big Unit's Fisher House Poker Run - kick stands up
  • 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – BBQ in the motorcycle plaza and The Can Room
  • 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. – MY23 H-D motorcycle demos
  • Noon – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • Noon to 3 p.m. – Crossfire
  • 3 p.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show
  • 4 p.m. – Division BMX Stunt Show

For more information on the H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic end-of-summer sale and picnic, click here. And for all the rest of the happenings in and around the Harley-Davidson Museum now through the end of summer and beyond, check out the Harley hotspot's website

And we'll see you at the H-D® Q End-of-Summer Sale & Picnic!

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.