On the fifth day of holidays, Milwaukee gave to me…

5 sausages a-racing
4 Baird Center floors
3 rivers flowing
2 ballrooms bouncing
In a newsletter just for me!

The best way to spread holiday cheer is by singing loud for all to hear. The second best is by rewriting a holiday classic and inserting it in a monthly newsletter. We opted for the latter.

It’s a busy holiday season in Milwaukee, with plenty of festive cheer around every corner. We’ve got holiday lights lighting up the night, themed bars and pop-ups making spirits bright and holiday shows taking place all month long in the Milwaukee Theater District. 

If you're scrambling for the perfect last-minute gift or hunting down that final stocking stuffer, we've got you covered. Give the gift of a Milwaukee getaway with Hotel Month, running Jan. 14 through Feb. 28 with exclusive savings at 30+ area hotels. And right now, you can spread even more love to local businesses with our new Buy Local Bonus: spend $25 or more on gift cards in person at 30+ participating spots and score a free $25 bonus gift card. It's the gift that keeps on giving. 

So, with Santa already well on his way (and a few more names in need of last-minute gifts), here’s everything you need to keep up with Milwaukee in the final edition of the 5 in5 newsletter for 2025.

Milwaukee just brought home two huge wins at the BizBash Event Experience Awards: Best City to Host a Meeting and Best Convention Center for Baird Center. This is major. BizBash is one of the most influential voices in the industry, so a recognition like this is no small feat. The best part? Milwaukee shared the awards stage with household names like TikTok, Sephora, Nike and Coca-Cola. These wins are the exclamation point on what's been an incredible year for Milwaukee, and they're giving planners everywhere another compelling reason to choose our city for your next event. Check out the full list of 2025BizBash Event Experience Awards here.

Speaking of exciting times on the horizon, we are so excited to share that Milwaukee will host Expo! Expo! in 2026.

As plans take shape, the focus is on giving you a sense of what it is like to host an event here. Expo! Expo! will unfold across Baird Center and the city itself, with time toexperience the expanded convention center, followed by evenings that highlight Milwaukee’s award-winning food scene, buzz-worthy attractions and world-class hospitality community. See the spaces, meet the people behind them and walk away with a strong sense of what the meetings and conventions in Milwaukee are all about. 

And if you picked up a special Milwaukee-themed IBIY bracelet at Expo! Expo! 2025, that thread continues in 2026. The bracelet will earn you onsite perks and a few surprises once you arrive, so be sure to bring it with you next year!

While you’ll have to wait almost a year for Expo! Expo!, there’s no time like the present tocatch our team on a tradeshow floor near you. Several members of the Visit Milwaukee team will be out in Philadelphia for the 2026 PCMA Convening Leaders.

Stop by our mid-winter tailgate as it brings a little Milwaukee spirit to Philadelphia, with food, conversation and plenty of easy ways to picture your group here. We will be sharing Milwaukee favorites, grilled bratwurst and Bloody Marys alongside stories that connect those flavors back to the city. You can also meet one of the chefs bringing fresh, flavor-forward dishes to Milwaukee’s buzzing culinary scene. And you can chat with NFL Hall of Famer and Green Bay Packers legend, LeRoy Butler (in AI form) with Ask LeRoy. Our digital concierge can answer your questions about hosting your next event in Milwaukeeand even tell you where to grab a bite while you’re in town. We look forward to seeing you there!

It’s been a landmark year for Milwaukee, and the media have taken notice of the growing buzz around our city. Here are some of the top stories about our destination in meetings and conventions publications in 2025:

• Discover the New Baird Center (Associations Now)
• Visit Milwaukee Launches Immersive Tour of Expanded Baird Center Using Drone Technology (Urban Milwaukee) 
• Milwaukee’s Baird Center Awarded LEED Gold Certification (Finance & Commerce)
• Visit Milwaukee Launches New Accessibility Hub (Prevue Meetings) 
• Meet the Diverse Small Business Owners Who Help Make Milwaukee Meetings a Success (Meetings Today)
• Relationships Rule: How Planners Can Cultivate Critical Connections With Hospitality Representatives (Corporate & Incentive Travel)
• Sports: Milwaukee’s Marissa Werner Named 2025 Sports ETA Woman of the Year(SportsTravel Magazine) 
• Skift IDEA Awards: Meet the 2025 Finalists (Skift)
• How Wisconsin’s Varied Culinary Scene Is a Big Win for Groups (Meetings Today) 
• IAEE Announces 2025 Award Winners (Exhibitor Online)
• Wisconsin Refreshes Meeting Spaces (Midwest Meetings) 
• Milwaukee Joins With Major U.S. Cities in Power-Charging Tourism Industry With $4.321 Billion (Travel and Tour World)
• New and Renovated: Bold Looks, Fresh Energy (Smart Meetings)

Last month, we highlighted the new and upcoming restaurants shaping Milwaukee's 2025and 2026 dining story, and Cassis just made the list even more exciting. This all-day French bistro hasn't even opened yet, and it's already landed on Bon Appétit's list of nine must-visit restaurants across the country. That kind of early spotlight is rare and signals serious momentum for what's coming next in Milwaukee. 

Set to open Jan. 5, Cassis comes from husband-wife duo Meghan and Kyle Knall, the team behind Birch. It's the type of place that works beautifully for VIP dinners, client hosting and offsite meals that feel special without complicated logistics. With nearly 200 seats, Cassis has the scale to meet demand, making it both buzzworthy and practical forgroups looking for the newest reservation in town.