Discover Edgerton

Edgerton can be explored through several specific reasons to visit: Chilimania is an annual event in the downtown area, Lake Koshkonong offers activities on the water, and festivals and cultural offerings provide other highlights. You can shape your stay around whichever theme matters most for your trip.

Chilimania: a culinary event with a set date

Since 1990, Chilimania has been held every year in downtown Edgerton on the Saturday after Labor Day. It features a CASI-sanctioned chili cook-off for the Wisconsin State Championship, a traditional chili cook-off, a salsa competition, and a public chili tasting. The competitions and tasting are distinct parts of the event: in addition to cooking in competitions, the festival also includes the chance for the public to sample chili. When planning your trip, both the date after Labor Day and the festival’s culinary focus are therefore worth considering.

Lake Koshkonong: recreation on the water

Edgerton is located on Lake Koshkonong, which covers 10,500 acres. Recreational options on the lake include pontoon boat rides, water sports, and fishing for musky, walleye, or largemouth bass. Each option offers a different focus: a pontoon boat ride centers on the boat trip, while water sports cover a broader range of activities. The fish species listed give fishing a more specific focus. If you are considering the lake as part of your trip, you can choose between a boat ride, water sports, and fishing rather than treating lake recreation as a single activity.

Living history at Thresherman's Park

The Rock River Thresheree is a living history festival held at Thresherman's Park in Edgerton. It features working antique steam engines and demonstrations of historic equipment. Historic technology and how it is presented are the main focus here, setting this festival apart from Chilimania, with its cooking competitions and tasting. The working steam engines and equipment demonstrations give the history theme a specific technological focus. This is a distinct option for planning your trip if you are more interested in historic technology than in Chilimania’s culinary focus or activities on the lake.

Art and performing arts

The Edgerton Pottery & Art Festival celebrates Edgerton’s connection to clay. Another cultural highlight is the Edgerton Performing Arts Center, a center for performing arts and culture. The Wartmann Endowment for the Performing Arts Center at the Edgerton Performing Arts Center supports musical and theatrical performances from around the world. A clay-focused festival and the performing arts offer two distinct cultural themes. They add an arts and culture perspective to the reasons to visit Chilimania, Lake Koshkonong, and the Rock River Thresheree.

Narrow down your reason to visit

Edgerton’s offerings differ not only in subject matter but also in what you can base your trip planning on. Chilimania offers a specific date: the Saturday after Labor Day. At Lake Koshkonong, you can choose between pontoon boat rides, water sports, and fishing as different interests. The Rock River Thresheree focuses on living history and historic technology, while the Edgerton Pottery & Art Festival and the Performing Arts Center offer cultural highlights. This can help you decide whether to center your trip on a particular festival date, activities on the water, or a focus on culture and history.

Discover more destinations: Beloit, Janesville.

For the broader travel overview: Rock.