Daily Press file photo
The vintage sawmill is shown in operation at last year’s U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association Annual Show at the U.P. State Fairgrounds. This year’s starts Friday and runs through Labor day.
Local communities and groups are hosting a wide array of celebrations and events this Labor Day weekend. They include:
ESCANABA
Beginning Friday, September 2, the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association 47th Annual Show will be held on Labor Day weekend, September 2-5, at the U.P. State Fairgrounds in Escanaba. Featured at the show this year are International Harvester, plus one of the largest indoor-outdoor flea markets in the U.P. and a knife and gun show.
There is a fee to enter, but children 14 and under are admitted free of charge.
Gates are open Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, September 3, 9 a.m to 5 p.m., Sunday, September 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, September 9 a.m to 4 p.m.
New this year is a barn dance on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday 6 p.m.; Spark Show on Saturday and Sunday at 9 p.m., weather permitting.
Tractor games are planned Saturday and a kids sawdust money hunt. Sunday events include tractor slow races, Hawaiian theme shopping cart decorating contest for kids 5-14. Carts will be provided and there will be cash prizes.
There will also be a barnyard theme trailer decorating contest. Any trailer that can be towed behind a tractor and/or lawn tractor can enter. There will be cash prizes for the winners. Participants must register for contests by 6 p.m. on Friday, September 2 by calling or texting Nicole Landers at 906-280-8453.
During the show there will be threshing, hay baling, rock crusher, drag saw, shingle mill and saw mill demonstrations in the Antique Village. Daily parades start at 1 p.m. and engine crank-ups start at 2 p.m. In Antique Village, the Cook Shack offers a selection of soups and sandwiches. The Ice Cream Shop serves up hand-dipped cones and floats. In the General Store attendees will find a variety of baked goods. A pie sale is located at the back of the indoor flea market in the Miracle of Life Building.
You will also find various other food vendors, arts and crafts vendors on the showgrounds.
For more information go to www.upsteamandgasengine.org.
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The Escanaba Municipal Dock is the site for the Rock the Dock Labor Day celebration September 3, 4, and 5. On Saturday, September 3, Reflections will play from 6 to 10 p.m. On Sunday, September 4 Angels and Outlaws will play from 1 to 4 p.m. and Smooth will play 4:30 to 8 p.m.
On Monday, September 5, there will be a parade down Ludington Street at noon. The parade lineup at the marketplace downtown Ludington Street at 11 a.m. The Monument to Labor will be dedicated by the Delta County Trades and Labor at the Municipal Dock.
The band Sit Down Francis and play from 1 to 4 p.m. and We Ain’t Saints from 4:30 to 8 p.m. For the kids there will be bounce houses and petting zoo. There will be a golf ball raffle by the Delta County Trades and Labor Union. The City of Escanaba Recreation Department is selling only 600 golf balls with $5,000 in cash and prizes awarded. All proceeds are going to the Delta County Trades and Labor Charity/Scholarship Fund and the City of Escanaba Recreation Department. Refreshments and food vendors.
ROCK
Community members and organizations in Rock are hosting a variety of activities and entertainment throughout Labor Day weekend including a parade, midway food and games, and more than a dozen bands.
In addition to the Rock Lions Club Annual Labor Day Parade and festival on Saturday, Sept. 3, several rock and roll, rhythm and blues bands are scheduled to perform at two other local venues Sept. 2-4.
The Rock Senior Center is also hosting its annual rummage sale just west of Rock on Saturday, Sept. 3. The Rock American Legion Auxiliary will sell baked goods there. Rock Faith Food Pantry is holding a non-perishable food drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to “Fill the Gazebo” in town.
Local Lions Club members have been participating in work bees and have more setting up to do to prepare the grounds for the annual Labor Day Festival known for decades as “The largest small town celebration in the U.P.”
The annual celebration begins with a parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3. Parade participants can pre-register by calling 906-356-9040. Registration will also take place that day beginning at 10 a.m. at the fire hall on East Maple Ridge 37th Road, east of the lone flashing light in town. No theme is designated for the parade and no judging will take place.
Following the parade, the public is invited to the festivities taking place along the midway at the Rock Lions Clubhouse located at 14454 Highway M-35, just north of the flashing light in town. There will be food, beer, various games, a bean bag tournament, a kids tractor pull, cowpie bingo, a flea market, crafts, baked goods, and bounce houses on site. The local student robotics team will be demonstrating its skills for the public, also. A local D.J. service will provide tunes from noon to 4 p.m.
The Wells Lions food stand will offer a variety of food and refreshments.
The Rock Lions Club members have been selling 50/50 raffle tickets. Winners will be drawn at 3 p.m. Saturday. The “Share the Wealth” raffle will award 30 percent of the proceeds to first place, 15 percent to second place, and 5 percent to third place.
The public is also invited to attend 11 band performances Friday through Sunday, Sept. 2, 3 and 4 during the Second Annual Boogie Fest Too concert taking place five miles west of Rock at 14069 County Line G Road. In addition to the rock and roll, rhythm and blues music, there will be a pig roast, vendors, and a bucket raffle. The event contributes to a community emergency fund with a portion of its ticket proceeds.
Bands featured at this year’s Boogie Fest Too lineup include “Fyrbird” at 8 p.m. Friday. Performers on Saturday and Sunday include “Todd Michael,” “Sunset Strip,” “Copper Box,” “Cornfield Mafia,” “Next Myle,” “Eddie and the Bluesers,” “Dexter Rowe,” ‘Out Lawd,” “Howard Guitar Luedke,” and “TC Knuckleheads.”
Camping is also available at the music fest. On Sept. 2, a “Friday Fun Day” is scheduled and will include a campground parade, games, and an 80’s costume contest.
Ticket and camping information can be accessed at www.Boogiefesttoo.rocks or call 906-356-6191.
NAHMA
Nahma Labor Day celebration on September 4, 2022 begins at 11 a.m. with a parade. Charley MacIntosh is this year’s Grand Marshall for the Nahma Labor Day Celebration.
A car show will line up at the golf course for parade. For more information call Don at 644-2029.
The celebration will also include craft tables, beer and refreshments, raffles, kids games, bounce house, kids escape room, log sawing and nail pounding contest, cakewalk, horseshoe contest, corn hole contest and more. Food and refreshments will be available.
Live music will begin at noon with Backroads 906 and later the Mionor and The Elders. For more information 906-450-7175, 906-553-1027 or 906-420-5077
CEDAR RIVER
The Biggest Littlest Bridge Walk-The Cedar River BridgeWalk is Saturday, September 3. Festivities begin with music at 10 a.m. CDT at the Cedarville Township Hall on the north side of Cedar River on Old Mill Lane and across from the marina at the Cedarville Township Hall and Volunteer Fire Department
Opening ceremonies for the BridgeWalk will start at 11 a.m. CDT, with the walk beginning shortly after.
BridgeWalkers will find festivities, food, raffles and various vendors on the south side of the Cedar River Bridge.
Proceeds benefit Sportsmen with Heart, Cedar River Chapel and the Cedarville Township Volunteer Fire Department. This event is endorsed by MI Governor’s Council on Health and Fitness.
MACKINAC BRIDGE WALK – ST. IGNACE
The 2022 Annual Bridge Walk is Monday, Sept. 5. The Mackinac Bridge will be closed to public traffic from 6:30 a.m. to noon on Monday, Sept. 5, to accommodate the 2022 Annual Bridge Walk.
For participant health and safety, the Mackinac Bridge Authority urges participants to follow CDC recommendations.
No bus transportation across the bridge will be provided. Walkers who decide to walk across the entire bridge will need to arrange their own transportation back to the end of the bridge where they started after the bridge reopens to public traffic at noon. There is limited parking space available west of the Mackinac Bridge Authority plaza area.
For those seeking alternative transportation during the event, the local Mackinac Island ferry companies offer transportation between St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, and Mackinac Island, as well as between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. Local transportation companies also offer shuttle service between various locations.
There is no fee or registration required to participate in the walk. The walk begins at 7 a.m. You may start walking any time after the governor’s party starts the walk at approximately 7 a.m. No one will be permitted to start after 11:30 a.m., so make sure you arrive early.
The walk begins in St. Ignace at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge in the Upper Peninsula, and in Mackinaw City at the south end of the bridge in the Lower Peninsula. To participate in the walk you may:
– Walk form either end of the bridge, turning around at the midpoint and returning to the city you started from, where your transportation is located. The turnaround points will move towards the ends of the bridge beginning at 10 a.m., but walkers can walk at least a portion of the bridge if you start by 11:30 a.m. Walkers must be on the side of the bridge they wish to return to before 10 a.m. or you will be turned back.
– Walk from either end of the bridge and continue across to the other side. This option is most like previous bridge walks. However, since bus transportation across the bridge will not be provided, walkers who choose this option will need to arrange for their own transportation back across after the bridge reopens at noon. Walkers who do not reach the midpoint of the bridge before 10 a.m. will be turned back.
– Walk from either end of the bridge, continuing across to the other side, then walking back to the end of the bridge you started from. This option will mean a 10-mile round trip for participants. If walkers in this option do not reach the midpoint of the bridge on their return trip by 10 a.m. will be turned back.
Walkers will use the left-hand outside paved lane as they walk onto the bridge, regardless of which end of the bridge they start from. Walkers who turn back at the midpoint will turn right, then return using the opposite side outside paved lane. Walkers who choose to cross the entire bridge will stay in the left-hand outside paved lane all the way across.
The Michigan State Police and other official personnel will be available in the event of an emergency. For more information contact the Mackinac Bridge Authority by August 30, 2022 at 906-643-7600.
