U.P. State Fair kicks off this week
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ESCANABA -- The Upper Peninsula State Fair is upon Escanaba once again and will run for seven days, beginning Monday, Aug. 14. There will be music, food, games, rides, merchants, performances, displays, animals and art. Together, events and features of the fair promote agriculture, stimulate the economy, provide education on local culture and heritage, and offer entertainment for all ages from day through night.
From Tuesday to Sunday, most of the activity is between 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; opening day festivities begin at 5 p.m. Monday. Slight variations in theme from one day to the next and time-limited events make each fair experience a little different.
Some entertainment will take place continually, Monday through Sunday. Skerbeck Entertainment Group, a family business based in Escanaba with a 160-year history, provides the carnival rides, fair foods and attractions on the midway for which the fair is well-known, beginning at 11 a.m. most mornings -- with the exception of Monday's evening opening. Barns exhibit rabbits, poultry, goats, sheep and cattle. The Antique Steam and Gas Village encourages interactive learning through "evoking the feel of a bygone era". Doves are released outside the poultry barn at 3 p.m. daily, weather permitting. Horse shows are every day involving a dozen classes. Cheese carver Sarah Kaufmann will be sculpting her famous dairy art. A strolling piano, which is on wheels and contains its own PA system, will have a musician making the rounds each evening and occasionally in the afternoons. Robots drive and play. Pork Chop Revue's performing pigs -- seen on America's Got Talent -- show off their tricks Monday through Saturday, albeit at different times.
The DNR Pocket Park, Bingo Tent, Petting Zoo, Miracle of Life Exhibit and Growing UP Foresters welcome visitors all seven days as well. Exhibitors, booths representing a number of organizations and vendors peddling various wares set up in the Ruth Butler building, which closes at 10:30 Monday through Saturday and at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The grandstand hosts musicians presented by Island Resort & Casino at 8 p.m. all but the first and last day. On Monday and Sunday grandstand events begin earlier. Monday features a cornhole tournament at 7 p.m., and the track once again becomes the Escanaba Speedway at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Monday launches with a ribbon cutting at the gate at 5 p.m. with the U.P. State Fair Queen and Court. Before this point on Monday, the judges will have reviewed entry forms and interviewed the contestants and chosen a Queen, Princess and Junior Princess. The crowning will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Beef Show Ring.
Prior to the opening ceremony is a miniature horse show at 1 p.m. The first Pork Chop Revue of the week begins at 8 p.m. Exhibits of dairy cattle, Highland cattle from U.P. farms, horses, floriculture, poultry, rabbits and pet stock will be placed Monday.
On Tuesday, a junior horse show begins at 8:30 a.m. Buildings and exhibits open at 10:30 a.m., a time consistent for each subsequent day. The theme on the 15th is "Chewsday Tuesday," with samples and discounts from participating food vendors in effect from noon to 4 p.m. Pork Chop Revue has three shows in the early afternoon. At 7 p.m., the grandstand opens for the 8 p.m. performance from country artist Jackson Dean.
Wednesday has no theme per se; it just echoes the overarching theme of "95 Years Strong" celebrated by this year's fair. Draft horse and mule shows are at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.; the latter time will see cart and hitch classes. Pork Chop Revues are scheduled for 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. The strolling piano is set for 4:30, 6:00 and 9:30 p.m. Its last stroll on the midway will coincide with a grandstand show. Two musical performances take the stage: country singer Helen DeBaker-Vorce and '80s rock/metal group The Glam Band.
During Honored Citizens Day on Thursday, seniors and Native Americans receive discounted admission and veterans with a DD214 are admitted for free. The Veteran of the Yea Award will be presented at 11 a.m., and luncheon with Governor Gretchen Whitmer will be held at noon; RSVPs must be made with the Chamber of Commerce. A Native American Celebration takes place at 2 p.m. Overall livestock showmanship may be seen at 6:30 p.m. The music at the grandstand will be from country singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde.
Friday ushers in "Flapjacks to Blackjacks." With the 9 a.m. livestock skillathon, this is an early fair morning -- and there will be pancakes. It continues to be a big day around the animals, with the junior beef team fitting contest at 2 p.m., the beef supreme champion presented at 4 p.m. and the chicken and egg auction at 6 p.m. The grandstand entertainment is hard rock band Night Ranger, best known for 1984 hit "Sister Christian." The Island Resort and Casino tent -- accessible only to adults over 18 -- will be operating a golf simulator and teaching blackjack.
Saturday's big event is the junior market livestock auction at 11 a.m. The day's presenter is Tractor Supply. Pork Chop Revue performs at 11:30 a.m., 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Draft horses and ponies will be competing in pulls in the afternoon. Grammy-winning Switchfoot, known for "Dare You to Move" and more, kicks off at the grandstand at 8 p.m.
Sunday is Meijer Family Day. Scouts in uniform get free admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Horses show in western and trail. With the music stage gone, the grandstand will overlook the track as Escanaba Speedway Racing takes over at 6 p.m. Fireworks begin at dusk on Sunday.
Admission for those aged 13 and above is $10 daily or $35 for the week. Children aged 6 to 12 are admitted for $5 each day or $20 for the week. Children five and under enter free.
Mega Bands have been sold out since the morning of June 23, but single-day wristbands for rides may be purchased for $30 at the ticket booths on site throughout the fair. Wristbands grant access to all rides except Top Gun, which requires four tickets in addition to a band or twelve tickets without a band. Other rides require between three and six tickets without a band. Tickets are $1.50 each or $60 for a sheet of 50.