Delegates get a little taste of Wisconsin inside the security perimeter at the RNC

Republican National Convention? Meet Wisconsin State Fair.

Inside the security perimeter for the four-day convention, several food vendors and shops are set up near Fiserv Forum for what organizers have dubbed “Convention Fest.” 

Picture a street festival, but it’s surrounded by barricades and guarded by thousands of police officers and law enforcement. There’s chicken wings, popcorn, donuts, Milwaukee Bucks shirts, Donald Trump merchandise, cold brew lemonade, cheese curds, frozen custard and beer.

On Tuesday afternoon, Lawrence Schneider II had a chance to take it all in.

“Oh, it’s awesome,” said Schneider, an alternate delegate from Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.

This is the first time Schneider has visited Milwaukee, and so far, he said Convention Fest and the RNC welcome party on Sunday have shifted his preconceived notions about Wisconsin’s largest city. 

“I’m going to have to change my narrative of Milwaukee,” Schneider II said. “I got to be honest with you — we’re from the other side of the state — you guys are alright, OK.” 

The convention comes weeks after former President Donald Trump — who was nominated as the Republican Party’s official presidential nominee Monday — reportedly called Milwaukee a “horrible city.”

Shannon McKinney, a delegate from Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, said she visited Milwaukee when she was a kid but hasn’t been back since.

“Everyone here has been super thoughtful and nice and I got to be honest, it’s changed my perspective of Milwaukee,” McKinney said. 

Peggy Williams-Smith, the president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee, said the fest is a way for some of the thousands of delegates, media members and law enforcement to get a little taste of Milwaukee inside the hard security perimeter.

“We are the city of festivals and this is yet … another festival in our great festival lineup,” Williams-Smith said. 

Some local vendors said the exposure has been good for business. Steve Schuyler, the owner of Waukesha-based Java Twist, is offering free samples of his uniquely flavored beverages to people stopping by his tent. When he heard the RNC was coming to town, he reached out to the convention to sign up to be a vendor. 

“This is an exposure for a lot of people that are national, obviously, coming to Milwaukee, and seeing us for the first time and hearing about us for the first time,” Schuyler said. 

Schuyler said it’s also been fun to rub elbows with some big names.

“Russell Brand came over to the booth yesterday and tried one of our products. He didn’t stay very long, but just to have somebody like that come and sample our product and just that kind of exposure … I love creating connections with people,” he said.

Schuyler said business was slow on Monday, but it picked up a bit on Tuesday.

Milwaukee-based Brew City Brand is selling t-shirts and other Milwaukee prints and designs. Gregory Harris, a manager at the shop, also said business was slow for him earlier in the week.

“I assume it’s just going to keep growing as the days go by,” Harris said. 

Instead of going to his hotel to get food Monday, Bob Kordus Jr., a Wisconsin delegate who lives in Lake Geneva, said he went to the fest to grab a bite to eat.

“Picked up some quick food. The chicken wings, I can attest, are very tasty, and the buffalo sauce is good,” Kordus Jr. said. 

Those chicken wings were made by the Milwaukee-based Buffalo Boss. Beth Fritzler, the operating officer at Buffalo Boss, said they’ve been cooking all their food at a commissary kitchen under a nearby tent, where around 20 different restaurants are also cooking food.

“It’s like ‘Top Chef’ in there,” Fritzler said. 

“It’s a true pop-up kitchen,” she added. 

Some vendors are selling Trump merchandise near Fiserv Forum. That includes Antwon Williams from Columbia, South Carolina. Williams said the hottest selling item was the “I’m voting for a convicted felon” t-shirt. But Wednesday, he was selling shirts that said “Fight, Fight, Fight” — a nod to Trump chanting those words shortly after an assassination attempt on his life last weekend.

“I think it’s going to take over the ‘convicted felon’ shirt,” Williams said.