'Love all things weird': Shrekfest came to Milwaukee for the first time, and enthusiasts flocked
Hundreds of people gathered at Humboldt Park in Bay View on Saturday to celebrate their favorite ogre and the movie carrying his name — Shrek.
Shrekfest started out as a joke and has grown into an event attended by people from around the world.
For the first time the festival was held in Milwaukee. From 2014 to 2019 the festival was in Madison and the last two have been virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A lot of people have been shut down since the whole coronavirus thing happened. ... But I think we're healing," said a 25-year-old man dressed as Jesus Christ with ogre ears, who only wanted to be referred to as "Shrek Jesus."
Like many in attendance, it is the movie's message that Shrek Jesus wants to spread far and wide.
"At first Shrek is a kind of standoff individual. He's mean, lives in a stinky, slimy swamp. But he learns to open up and becomes a loving, kind ogre," Shrek Jesus said.
"I just love like his character arc of self growth and acceptance. I think that's what brings a lot of people together," said Vincent Kapitanski, 18, who attended the event for the first time this year.
"I love all things weird. I think it's a place for people to express themselves and it's just an accepting festival. ... I'm super glad they moved to Milwaukee this year and came back after COVID, it's been awesome, such a cool opportunity," Kapitanski said.
The original 'Shrek' movie was released in 2001, but there have been a number of sequels. For 8-year-old Graham Williams it's all about "Shrek 2."
Williams loves to see Shrek roar, he said.
Taylor Sihakom, 18, said he came to Shrekfest with his mom to have a "shreking good time." Sihakom was one of many people wearing Shrek memorabilia and costumes.
Shrek Jesus and Sihakom participated in the roar contest, which is one of many events held at Shrekfest. Participants have to roar as loud as they can as the crowd reacts to their roars. One of the participants said he traveled from France to attend the festival.
Shrekfest's co-founder and director Grant Duffrin, along with comedy pals Eric Nitschke and Kevin Gonring organize the annual event. The three men held an opening ceremony, where they welcomed crowd favorite characters to the stage, including Pikachu, a Minion and Santa Claus.
The star of the show was of course Shrek himself, who snuck up on the crowd from behind, and was immediately bull rushed by droves of young children and some adults.
In between speaking portions, the crowd was treated to a soundtrack of popular music and sometimes live performances from Sauce Hound, The Unitaskers and Star67.
The festival was located near the Band Shell in the park. Crowds gathered on the hill, while vendors lined the pathway.
Abby F., 23, said she traveled from Detroit with her dad to display her art at the festival.
"One thing that I was kind of notorious for when I was working at Cedar Point (amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio), as a caricature artist, was that I would tell people Shrek facts. So when I heard about the opportunity to come here to Shrekfest and sell stuff, I was like 'perfect,'" she said.
An onion-eating contest was also planned. It is said that an ogre's favorite food is onions. To conclude the day's festivities, there was a live screening of "Shrek."
Contact Drake Bentley at 414-391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shrekfest held in Humboldt Park in Milwaukee was attended hundreds
