ESCANABA — The completion of the Upper Peninsula Military Museum, located in the multipurpose building at the U.P. State Fairgrounds, will be celebrated with a soft opening ceremony next week. This event is set to take place on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the multipurpose building.

“It’s to recognize the men and women who have served and sacrificed in the military,” Upper Peninsula Military Museum Curator Ann Jousma-Miller said of the museum.

The museum also highlights the Upper Peninsula’s contributions to war efforts over the years.

A small group of people who have worked on and financially supported the Upper Peninsula Military Museum have been invited to the soft opening. Guests have been asked to wear masks, observe social distancing guidelines, and stay home if they are not feeling well.

After Oct. 8, the Upper Peninsula Military Museum will be open to members of the public during the multipurpose building’s regular operating hours. A grand opening event for the military museum has been tentatively set for the summer of 2021.

Efforts to establish a military museum at the U.P. State Fairgrounds date back to 2015, when the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association — which operates the Antique Village at the fairgrounds — received a donation of military memorabilia. The project was eventually incorporated into plans for the multipurpose building, which opened in the summer of 2019. Jousma-Miller came on board as the museum’s coordinator in May 2019.

The military museum will join the Webster Marble “Inventing the Outdoors” Museum, which has been in place at the multipurpose building since it opened. The building also houses the offices of the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, Visit Escanaba, Builders Exchange, Delta County Economic Development Alliance and the U.P. State Fair.