How The World’s Largest Shrekfest Ended Up in Milwaukee

Aug 31

Originally Published on Milwaukee Magazine 8/31

It’s tough to argue that Milwaukee doesn’t deserve the title of City of Festivals. Each year as the weather warms, Milwaukeeans diligently organize dozens of festivals-- cultural festivals, neighborhood festivals, food and beverage festivals, pet festivals, beer festivals, cheese festivals and of course the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest. This year, a new festival is joining the ranks. For the first time ever, Milwaukee is hosting the World’s Largest Shrekfest.

Shrekfest is an annual music, art and film event hosted by art collective 3GI Industries. The festival, which takes place at Humboldt Park, features Shrek themed live music, games, an onion eating contest, a roar competition, a costume contest and wraps the night up with an outdoor screening of the movie Shrek. The inaugural Shrekfest took place in 2014 in Madison, WI. Eight years later, the festival moved to Milwaukee to host the first in-person event since 2019.

“It started as a joke,” says Grant Duffrin, Shrekfest Director and Founder of 3GI studios. “It was a fake Facebook event that my friends and I stumbled upon. We were really excited to go to it, and then we found out it wasn’t a real event. It was fake, it was a joke. And the joke went over our heads.”

Grant and his friends decided to make that joke a reality. That year, they organized the first ever Shrekfest and hosted it in Madison as a way to honor the fake Facebook event. It was immediately deemed “The World’s Largest Shrekfest.”

“I just made that up,” says Duffrin about the title. “When I started saying that, we were the only Shrekfest. Now there are a bunch of events that call themselves Shrekfest. Saying ‘we are the largest shrekfest in the world’ is no longer a joke, it’s something we say to differentiate ourselves. I should say we are the original Shrekfest.”

This year, they are expecting around 1,000 people to attend, according to Duffrin’s estimate. In the past visitors have traveled from incredible distances to attend the festival. Since its inception, Shrekfest has hosted visitors from as far as Sweden, China and Australia.

“I’m amazed at the distance people will travel to be at Shrekfest,” says Duffrin.

So what is it about the Shrek franchise that makes it such an appealing event? According to Duffrin, it’s simple. Shrek is a great movie with great characters and a great soundtrack-- it just has that je ne sais quoi element that has built a lasting fanbase.

Here’s What You Can Expect At This Year’s Shrekfest:

Friday, September 2 at 7 P.M. - Shrekfest Kickoff Party at X-Ray Arcade - FREE