MILWAUKEE, WI (September 25, 2025) – Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. (MWF) announced that the second annual PULSE, A Health & Wellness Fest For All, powered by Aurora Health Care and MWF with support from Gatorade Water and Kroger, was a big success. The 2025 event built on its inaugural year with increased participation, community impact, and an expanded mix of programming designed to inspire health and wellness.
The FREE community event, which was held on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at Henry Maier Festival Park, offered attendees the opportunity to participate in over 50 free fitness classes, cooking demonstrations with local chefs, wellness panels led by Aurora Health Care experts, and engage with over 60 health and wellness vendors.
Aurora Health Care provided supplies and volunteers to pack 1,200 kits during PULSE, benefiting United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County. Community members were encouraged to help expand the impact of this initiative by bringing additional donations of socks, deodorant, baby wipes and other hygiene supplies. United Way received 662 items - valued over $2,000, which will support Project Homeless Connect.
PULSE also expanded its programming with dance classes, e-bike demos, kayaking on Lake Michigan, and a ninja warrior course, while also featuring some of the region’s most recognizable fitness leaders:
- Yarizett Breunig – NinjaYari - 5-time American Ninja Warrior, Red Bull and Beast Games competitor, and viral fitness live streamer and creator with over 1.8 million followers.
- Laura Novotny – Life with Laura Julaine – mom, business owner, and a social media influencer who has turned her passion of fitness into a career.
- Pat Gilles – Pat’s Gym – owner - he merges rigorous physical training with vital mental coaching.
- Lex Banach – The Wellness Collective - fitness instructor and founder of The Wellness Collective
- Dominique Johnson – YMCA – fitness instructor, ZUMBA, and first lady of the city of Milwaukee
- Other classes led by: Orangetheory Fitness, Powercycle, Milwaukee Rec, YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee, Toned Body Fitness, [solidcore], Revival Boxing Fitness + Wellness, and The Shape Up Shoppe Fitness Club
“PULSE has quickly become Milwaukee’s signature wellness event, and we are proud of the role it plays in helping to build a healthier community,” said Kevin Canady, Vice President Sales and Business Development, Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “Thank you to our partners at Aurora Health Care, Gatorade, Kroger, and all of the organizations and attendees who helped make the event a success.”
“We were thrilled to return for a second year, and the increase in attendance demonstrates the shared commitment that we have with our community to focus on health and wellness. This is why we’re so committed to events like PULSE,” said Gabrielle Finley-Hazle, president, Aurora Health Care. “The partnership between Aurora Health Care and Milwaukee World Festival allows us to offer this free, fun event. We are grateful to the hundreds of volunteers, teammates and to all who made this event possible.”
About Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. is an independent, private 501(c)(3) corporation founded in 1965 that produces Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance, a three-weekend music festival featuring over 600 artists across 12 stages. Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. also maintains and improves Henry Maier Festival Park, located on 75 acres on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, WI. In addition to Summerfest, Henry Maier Festival Park hosts a variety of ethnic and cultural festivals, concerts, family programming, walks, runs, and other special events. The mission of the organization is to promote an understanding of different ethnic cultures, the histories and traditions of various nationalities, harmony in the community, civic pride as well as to provide a showcase for performing arts, activities, and recreation for the public and employment opportunities for the youth of the community. For more details, visit MilwaukeeWorldFestival.com or Summerfest.com, and on socials @MilwaukeeWorldFestival or @Summerfest.
About Aurora Health Care
Aurora Health Care is the largest health system in Wisconsin and a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. The state's largest private employer, the system serves patients across 18 hospitals, more than 70 pharmacies and more than 150 sites of care. Aurora Health Care, in addition to Advocate Health Care in Illinois and Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. Committed to redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.