Summerfest brings big acts, but also a different community of artists: Merchants selling their wares

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- On the eve of Summerfest, vendors were busy making last-minute preparations ahead of the Opening Day rush! As some of the world's most popular musical acts get ready to hit the stage over the next two weeks, Summerfest is also a "big gig" for a different community of artists.

A venue as big as Summerfest promotes many smaller communities within.

On Tuesday, June 24th -- one day before the Big Gig was set to kick off, marketplaces were being engineered.

It was happening all over Henry Maier Festival Park on Tuesday -- but it is often overlooked in the grand scheme of things.

Mark Billman is a jeweler.

Originally from Beaver Dam, Billman moved to Florida years ago.

This marks his 37th year selling his handmade jewelry at Summerfest.

"A long time! I was really young then," Billman said.

While Billman has made appearances at Summerfest for decades, ring-makers Melissa and Nathan Gylland were back this year for Summerfest #2.

"He's a nervous guy but he's doing good. We learned from his family and they do shows all around so they taught us how to do it and now here we are," Gylland said.

The Gylland's corner of commerce represents a small fraction of Summerfest's community of artisans, craft-makers and T-shirt tycoons.

Each of these vendors is hoping to make big sales during the Big Gig's 11-day run.

"Preparing for this show is like for weeks and weeks and weeks," Billman said.

"When we are doing this, we are thinking about how the show is going to go, how we are going to set up, how we want to make it look nice," Melissa Gylland said.

The merchant set-lists are in place, and it's just a few more hours before these artists hit the stage!

Many of these vendors say Summerfest is one of their biggest events of the year.

It's two weeks of business which, depending on turnout can produce a big profit.