Timber show brings touch of past to fair
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ESCANABA -- At this year's U.P. State Fair, fairgoers have been able to have fun while learning about the history of the forest products industry by watching the Great Lakes Timber Show. Performances of the show will continue to take place three times each day throughout the fair.
Bruce Belanger, the Great Lakes Timber Show's founder, said it has been going for 35 years. The show features a number of logging-related events and challenges.
"We do chainsaw carving, we do axe throwing and then we do cross-cut sawing," Belanger said.
Log rolling is also a prominent part of the show.
Though the Great Lakes Timber Show aims to be fun and funny, it also includes some educational elements. Belanger said he feels it is important to teach his show's audiences about logging since the forest products industry still plays an important role in modern society.
He also spoke about the need to keep the industry's past alive for younger generations.
"It's important to keep tradition and history going," Belanger said.
Aside from its use of chainsaws, Belanger said the show is designed to be reminiscent of the log drives of the past.
"We try to have all the events that would actually take place … back in the 1800s," he said.
The Great Lakes Timber Show travels to state and county fairs, festivals and many other events. According to Belanger, his show has been featured on ESPN, CBS, NBC, Travel Channel, MTV and Fox News Channel.
For the most part, Belanger said he takes his show across the Midwest and the Eastern seaboard. However, he has close ties to Escanaba.
"It's always a lot of great fun for me to work in my hometown," he said.
Belanger first got involved with log rolling when he was 15.
"The Sayklly family got me started -- from Sayklly's Candies," he said.
In his late teens and early 20s, Belanger worked in Hank Peters' lumberjack shows in Cincinnati. Later on, he decided to develop a show of his own, resulting in the creation of the Great Lakes Timber Show.
Belanger, who has brought his show to the fair "several times," said he is glad to return this year.
"I think the U.P. State Fair is a great family venue, and it's just really fun to be part of it," he said.