Deborah Prescott | Daily Press Joanne Dufour paints fencing in the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association Antique Village at the U.P. State Fairgrounds recently. The village is getting ready for the summer season with flowers and structural updates. The village will be open every Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. through Aug. 29. A work bee is planned June 15 to prepare the grounds.

ESCANABA — Shop owners, managers and volunteers are preparing the Antique Village at the U.P. State Fairgrounds for Summer in the Village. Summer in the Village is open Thursdays from 12 to 4 p.m. until Aug. 29. Select shops, a museum and community hall will be open with items to purchase, exhibits to see and machine demonstrations to enjoy. Admission is free and easy access can be found at Gate 3 off 9th Avenue North.

The Antique Village is operated by the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association with support from the U.P. State Fair Authority.

This year, the Antique Village looks a little different from the outside with the addition of the new Delta County Chamber of Commerce building being constructed nearby. Although it looks slightly different the feel of a bygone area is still in the village.

Throughout the summer, the chapel in the village has many weddings scheduled to take place there.

“It’s a constant job to maintain the village,” said store owner Larry Klope. “Members have a love of the village to do it.”

Klope owns the Knit and Stitch and will have a sock and knitting machine demonstration in his shop with some products for purchase. According to Klope, there were two knitting businesses in the Escanaba area between the 1920s and 1930s.

The area’s severe winter took a toll on some buildings in the village, structures so opening shops have taken a little longer than the owners wanted. Pipes froze in some buildings and caused mold damage from water. Renovations are continuing while the village is open for business. A work bee is set for Saturday when volunteers and Boy Scouts will aid in planting flowers, painting and other tasks.

Inside the Community Hall, there will be items for purchase.

Mary Posaenke has displayed items for sale at the village for about four years now. This year, she will have micro-greens for sale.

“I brought stuff to sell at the Esky Farmers Market when it was at the old place,” said Posaenke. “I prefer to sell my items here at the village now.”

Lois Conine sells bags of popcorn during Antique Village events. She normally sells 100 bags a day during the fair, but during the Christmas in the Village event she can sell as much as 400 bags a day.

Some select shops open during Summer in the Village are, a blacksmith shop, carving shop, CC’s Creations, items in the Community Hall, Fiber Boutique and Candle Shop, the general store, a glassblowing shop, the granary, a pottery shop and rock shop, and the Wooly Sock.