Night at the Village features chance to drive a tractor

Daily Press file photo Tractors are shown on the move at the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association Antique Village at the U.P. State Fairground.
ESCANABA — Night at the Village, new this year, is being held at the Antique Village on the U.P. State Fairgrounds in Escanaba this weekend. Both Friday and Saturday, the village stores will be open from noon to 5 p.m., and activities continue to take place into the evening until 9 p.m. The event is free to attend, with donations accepted for the Delta Animal Shelter.
Proceeds raised from roasted hot dogs, s’mores, and bucket raffles will go towards activities for kids during the annual Steam and Gas Engine Show, which is held on Labor Day Weekend. Last year, a pie challenge served the same purpose; organizer Nicole Landers said that there was less interest in that this year, and that there were another couple goals she wanted to achieve with Night at the Village.
A key attraction this weekend is that attendees who have never driven a tractor before will get to do so. Volunteers with John Deere and Farmall — maybe others, depending on who shows up — will ride with them.
“I’ve wanted to do it during the show, but I don’t have the time and I don’t have the space,” Landers said. “Kids, adults — there’s a lot of people who have never driven a tractor.”
Furthermore, the first 25 people to participate in driving their first tractor will also get a voucher for a free ice cream at the Corner Cone — the ice cream shop in the village that has just recently been taken over by Rapid River Dairy Flo and remodeled.
“A lot of people at Christmas in the Village said, ‘you know, this would be great if it was nice out,'” Landers said with a laugh. “And a bunch of little kids told me that they had never roasted a hot dog in their entire lives.”
While such a thing can happen when people live in town without a fire pit, Landers believes roasting over a fire is part of the U.P. experience, and hopes plenty of people turn up for hot dogs, s’mores, tractor rides, and everything else the Antique Village has to offer.
Camping on the grounds overnight is also available; for bookings, Landers can be reached at 906-280-8453.