For those that didn’t know, the U.P. has their own State Fair due to its isolated nature. Held each year in Escanaba since its inception in 1928 the Upper Peninsula State Fair is more accessible to Upper Peninsula residents than the Michigan State Fair held in Detroit.
The gates are open at 8 a.m. until [...]

Paradise, Michigan shows how to finish off a fireworks display in this video taken from the 2007 fireworks show. For those of you who cannot wait for your local displays tonight - here’s a little taste.

Happy 4th of July!

Over the weekend while working outside my son and I heard a constant barrage of rumbles and loud bangs from local pyrotechnicians perfecting their craft for the 4th of July. Yes, it’s that time of the year again when local dogs run for cover under the porch or in their doghouse and don’t emerge [...]

We stopped and bought a paper today because we wanted to know what time the local Memorial Day parade was going to be. The front page of the Kalamazoo Gazette said in regards to Memorial Day Parades, “A Complete List is on B-2.” Cool, I thought.

When I looked at B-2 only Kalamazoo areas had their parade times listed. What kind of a complete list is that?

So, I turned to the internet and searched - White Pigeon Memorial Day parade. The first result was ironically enough for the Kalamazoo Gazette blog at mlive.com.

Or is it?
Saturday October 13 at 7 p.m. Constantine and White Pigeon will meet up for the 86th and perhaps final time on the gridiron. Constantine is leaving the St. Joseph Valley Conference for the Kalamazoo Valley Conference and will not have room in its schedule to accommodate a non-conference game with White Pigeon [...]

This past January I wrote about The Anatomy of a Yooper exhibit at the Marquette County History Museum that began running in April. The exhibit is still open and is featuring traditional U.P. food (I’m thinking pasties) at an open house this Thursday from 7 to 9pm.
The exhibit showcases how Yoopers coped with the [...]

The 2007 Michigan Notable Books author tour runs April 5 through May 24. The tour encompasses just about every area of the state giving Michigan residents a chance to meet the authors of the 2007 Michigan Notable Books.
19 of the authors are participating in the tour this year for book signings and discussions. [...]

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum plays host to the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival this weekend (March 24). The event celebrates the stringed-instrument history and legacy of Kalamazoo. Guitars have been produced in Kalamazoo for over a century, but Kalamazoo was also home to banjo, basses, ukuleles, mandolins, and other stringed-instrument production.
The event runs from 10 [...]

Well, the corned beef has been purchased. The homemade root beer is brewing (I don’t drink “real” beer). All I need is a little Irish music and to watch John Wayne’s, The Quiet Man - simply one of the best movies filmed in Ireland.
You can get The Quiet Man on DVD at Amazon [...]

Last year, I wrote about the Outhouse Classic that takes place up in Trenary, Michigan. I was fortunate enough to come across a video of the 2005 event on YouTube.
Some of the outhouses people made for the race are quite well done and could stand on their own as Upper Peninsula works of art. [...]