Opening Night Parade for the UP State Fair Cancelled

ESCANABA, MI — Thursday, August 12, 2010 - This year, the UP State Fair will kick-off without its famed Opening Night parade. Safety concerns and the logistics of shutting down a main traffic artery in Escanaba made mapping the route difficult. The new route would have had participants marching nearly two miles to arrive at the fairgrounds.

Steve Masters, Executive Director of the Bays de Noc Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said, “After talking with Bonnie Wenick-Kutz, Parade Chairperson, our deciding factor was the closing of Stephenson Avenue for necessary upgrades and enhancements, along with street upgrades on Ludington Avenue making the logistics of safely and efficiently getting traffic into the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds very difficult. The new route would have stretched to almost two miles and that is too long for the marchers. Cancelling the parade is a difficult decision but safety is our first priority. Bonnie and I want to thank all the people who entered the parade and hope that they will consider participating in the future.”

UP State Fair opens its doors Monday night, Opening Night, at 5:00 PM marking its inaugural year operating without financial support from the State of Michigan.

For more information on events and activities at this year’s UP State Fair—Michigan’s ONLY State Fair—please visit www.upstatefair.org or call the Delta County Commerce Center at 906-786-2192.