Attendees of the last Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo in Escanaba socialize and check out machinery in this shot taken Sept. 8, 2023. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press, file)

ESCANABA — The event that celebrates and connects various professionals and other parties interested in the timber industry is back in Escanaba with the show on the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds from Thursday through Saturday.

The Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo takes place every year but alternates between Green Bay and Escanaba.

The expo is the major event organized by the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association. This year’s expo again will feature a BARKO loader skills challenge, the Roland/Komatsu forwarder operator challenge and more.

Organizers say more than 300 indoor and outdoor exhibitors attend each year to showcase such products as log splitters, portable sawmills, compact tractors, construction and logging equipment, chainsaw carving and wood/pellet stove dealers.

Doors will be open to the public Thursday from noon to 5 p.m., followed by a ceremony and private kickoff event.

Friday’s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The docket includes two competitions from 1 to 3 p.m.: a ladies’ bowling pin toss and a tug-of-war pitting Michigan against Wisconsin.

On Saturday, a Knights of Columbus breakfast begins when the show opens at 8 a.m. Until noon, a chainsaw racing contest challenges the residents of the U.P. to compare their skills with those of Wisconsinites.

Finals for the loader and the forwarder contests conclude at noon Saturday, with the expo wrapping up at 1 p.m.

The $20 cost of admission grants entry for all three days; children younger than 18 can get in for free.