Midwest Viking Festival
- Dates
- Expected October 2027
- Status
- Expected
- Venue
- Viking House grounds (north of the Wood Hall lot), University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
- Price
- Free
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Sep 1, 2026
Midwest Viking Festival's 2027 dates haven't been announced yet. The last festival was 2 to 3 October 2026 in Green Bay, WI. Froligo tracks free-entry details, attendee feedback and travel details.
The experience
What's special
The Midwest Viking Festival is a free, family-friendly living-history event hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Viking House, exploring Scandinavian history and daily life from a thousand years ago. Held on the Viking House grounds each fall, it gathers roughly 60 to 70 authentically dressed Viking-age interpreters from across the Midwest into an encampment of blacksmiths, silversmiths, weavers, woodworkers, glass-bead makers, and cooks working with period ingredients, alongside battle demonstrations, saga storytelling, rune-singing, Viking House tours, and hands-on activities for kids. It has grown into one of the Midwest's largest Viking festivals, drawing nearly 3,000 visitors
What people love
Attendees highly recommend the festival and single out its authentic living-history demonstrations, especially the battle demonstrations, which one repeat visitor's child loves, and note that it gets a little bigger and better every year. Many credit Professor Sherman and the volunteers who put it on, and appreciate that it is free and welcoming to families
Last time around (2026)
The Midwest Viking Festival returned to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on October 2 and 3, held as a free event. Living historians from around the Midwest gathered to demonstrate period skills, tell stories, and sell goods, with battle demonstrations held each day. Special guest Norsemen MN Entertainment performed Viking-age games and stories from the sagas. Photos from the event showed demonstrations of thread spinning and blacksmithing, along with yarn colored with natural dyes on display, highlighting various aspects of life in medieval Scandinavia
See it before you go
Lineup
Set in the Viking-Age period. Event style: living-history.
2027 lineup not yet announced. Here is who played in 2026:
Costumes & what to wear
Joining in
An interactive, family-friendly living-history event: visitors can tour the Viking House with Elspeth and Owen Christiansen, hear stories, songs and tales, watch a battle demonstration, try medieval games (hnaftafl and kubb), get rune readings, and take part in a kids' Viking Quest scavenger hunt and archery
Getting there
How do I get to Midwest Viking Festival?
By car
Most people drive to Midwest Viking Festival. Check current road and traffic conditions before you set off, and see parking below.
By train
No direct passenger rail to the venue was found. Drive, fly in, or use a shuttle instead.
By bus & public transit
Green Bay Metro's fixed routes cover Green Bay, Ashwaubenon, De Pere, Allouez, and Bellevue, and can reach the general campus area, though the transit agency's own service area page doesn't itemize a direct airport-to-campus route
Book / info →Taxi & rideshare
Standard airport pickup at Green Bay's Austin Straubel International Airport, outside baggage claim. UW-Green Bay's campus is about 6 miles east of downtown Green Bay on the Lake Michigan shoreline
Book / info →Taxis and rideshare such as Uber and Lyft can be limited near the venue, especially late at night or in rural areas. Agree a pickup point and time in advance and keep a backup plan.
🅿 Parking
On site parking available. Prepay via ParkMobile app, per UW-Green Bay's own campus parking regulations. The festival is held at the Viking House grounds, described by the organiser as north of the Wood Hall lot on the UW-Green Bay campus. Per UW-Green Bay's own guest parking policy, anyone without a UW-Green Bay parking permit must pay for parking, with hourly, daily and semester options; day visitors are directed to the ParkMobile app. The university's page does not spell out a specific festival day or weekend rate, so check current signage or the ParkMobile app on arrival
🚙 Car hire
Compare car hire
On site parking is available; if you are hiring a car it is worth checking the cost and how early it fills.
Search car hire →Car hire links may earn Froligo a commission; they never change the price you pay.
Where
Venue
The venue has its own page with capacity, accessibility and parking.
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Midwest Viking Festival?
No on site camping. Here is where to stay nearby.
Budget stays 1
On the east side of Green Bay, closer to campus than the downtown hotels
Check rates →Mid-range hotels 1
About 7 miles from campus, a family oriented resort with an indoor water park
Check rates →Luxe hotels 1
In the heart of downtown Green Bay, about 5 miles from the UW-Green Bay campus
≈ $129 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Check rates →Airbnb & private camping
Green Bay's Airbnb market is generally moderate outside Packers home-game weekends; this free daytime October festival shouldn't create unusual demand on its own
Search Airbnb →Not a natural fit for a free daytime campus event with no camping component, but a Hipcamp search covers the wider Green Bay area for anyone who would rather camp and drive in
Search Hipcamp →Hotel links may earn Froligo a commission; they never change the price you pay.
Accessibility & comfort
What the organiser or venue publishes about getting around, and what they do not.
Checked the official festival page, the Viking House map page and a keyword crawl of uwgb.edu on 3 Sep 2026. There is no accessibility statement for the festival and nothing on terrain, accessible parking or toilets for the event. The only accessibility link on the site is UW-Green Bay's general website accessibility policy, which is not event access. Ask via the Viking House contact page at https://www.uwgb.edu/viking-house/contact/
Confirm your specific needs with the organiser's access team before you travel.
Pricing
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