Every year on the 2nd week of August, the Marquette County Fair takes place at the fairgrounds…read morelocated south of Marquette, down County Hwy 553. It is our favorite fair to attend every year and I base my vacation on the date of the fair, as we always want to attend this one. Admission is something like $5 per adult, $2 for kids and kids under 2 free. Unwritten rule: Cute kids can get in for free. The elderly ticket vendor commented on his cuteness and let my 2 year old Stunt Baby get in for nothing. It is large as far as county fairs go. The first and largest of the barns is dedicated to arts, craft, and photographs, as well as baked goods, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In the main barn, there are also a number of local businesses ranging from health clinics to car dealers. Deer and small game hunters can look at new hunting gear too. Over the years, we've bought scented candles, locally processed maple syrup, and wooden toys from craftsmen. Local politicians promote their re-election bids here too. The livestock exhibits consist of red barns arranged in sequential order so you can see them one after another as you move from barn to barn, from draft horses to cattle, pigs, poultry and small animals, and a separate 4H barn off to the side where you can see the kids' crafts, scrap books and collages entered into the fair. With numerous categories for judging, seems many of them get recognized for their accomplishments, as blue and red ribbons abound. Jilbert's Dairy sponsors the dairy barn and even bring their giant fiberglass cow "Jill" to stand at the entrance for people to get their picture with her. Inside, you can buy a limited selection of Jilbert's ice cream, but I recommend going to the dairy in Marquette afterwards, since it is cheaper and you have a wider choice of flavors. The barns are fun to visit, since many of the handlers and owners of the animals are there to talk about their particular animal, especially among the horses. While some of the animals can be petted, there's also plenty that warn about keeping your fingers out of the pens or cages. One of the most amusing things we saw was a horse dressed up in beer 24-pack cartons for a costume judging contest (see picture). The owner explained how much beer she had to consume to have enough cardboard for the costume. Besides the carnival rides and games near the entrance, there's the food. Our favorite has to be Croatian Village Chicken. They have a multi-rack rotisserie grill set up outside that turns dozens of chickens over charcoal till they're roasted golden-brown. The rotisserie itself is a mechanical marvel of angled gear and pulleys making all of these racks turn at once. We get half a chicken and some fresh-cut fries from Fabe's at another stand nearby. And they even have buffalo burgers for the adventurous meat lovers. There's some picnic tables and tents set up for people to eat. It is best to eat there and stay away from the barns so you don't inhale the "dairy-air" of the animals downwind. Grab a bag of salty-sweet kettle corn while you're there too. There's an outdoor theatre that puts on shows for kids at regular intervals, usually a small animal show and a birds of prey show with hawks, falcons and owls. And on the way out, why not pull over by County Road 553 for a while and go look for some wild blueberries near the sandy exit roads leading out of the fairgrounds...

Greg gave us our tour and he brought personal experience that made us fall in love with Marquette…read moreeven more! It was detailed and yet laid back all at the same time. Thank you, Greg!

Greg is the best tour guide! He has really great authentic stories. We almost invited him to lunch…read moreso we could hear more! Highly recommend going on a tour with him.

It's a beautiful historic event space and local gem. It was easy to purchase tickets online and…read morepick your seats. Being in a school, there's a sizeable parking lot and ample street parking. Lots of events happen here so watch this space for something amazing!

Had some good drinks here and the ability to sit outdoors on a nice day to enjoy them is pretty…read moregreat. Really liked the wine frozen drinks! Laid back atmosphere and is dog friendly. Which isn't necessarily a good thing. Sadly the outdoor area had a strong dog poop smell which kind of ruined our buzz! we moved tables, but couldn't shake the smell, so we drank up and moved on. Another let down is the view. So close to beautiful Lake Superior, yet the only view is of a dirty power or water treatment plant. They have regularly scheduled food trucks, so food is available when they are there.

Closed event for a birthday party- didn't know until we showed up and saw the sign on the door. On…read morea Saturday! Boooooo

No space. Merch was out of stock. The bartender didn't even greet us. We ended up leaving without…read moreordering anything and found another place. For a city that's very touristy, you'd expect to greet patrons.

Wow, was not expecting this level of sophistication, history, hospitality and uniqueness of brews…read more(and in the wilds of the UP). Elevated authentic farmhouse and saison style, (which has not been a favorite but made for quick converts when the brews are this exceptional). Visited on an off-season rainy Sat in May and the aesthetics alone (inside and out) were beautiful. Cozy and inviting, upscale not pretentious. Unique beers that were delicious and aromatic. Well worth visiting and as an event space, exceedingly lovely.

Well, I haven't been to any of the other Michigan Brewers Guild festivals yet, but I have to say…read morethat the UP Beer Fest was an absolute hit with me. Just from the way we got in, I knew this was going to be well run. I had to like the people on the loud speakers asking us kindly to have our IDs out and not to be dicks. Ha! It wasn't just that though, for a festival that was listed as sold out, my friend and I got through the line fairly quickly and onto the most important thing: Beer. This was my first time at the event, but I was told by vets that they had even more beer and producers this year. In a way, you didn't really notice as the tents were set up really well and outside of the line for Greenbush or a major tapping like KBS. I have to give full props to how they set up the porta johns. As a guy, it was pretty nice to have one just for guys to quickly get in and get out. But, they also made sure there were plenty of johns available for everyone. The food was a bit on the pricy side, but it was also never hard to get something if you wanted it. Granted, the falafel I bought did have a lot in it. While $7 is on the higher side than I'm used to, I also fully accept that you will pay more at a festival like this. The UP Beer fest was an absolute blast for me and I am looking forward to coming back next year.

Gorgeous UP weather; sun and a cooling breeze off the lake. Friendly, happy people and delicious…read morebeer. What a great afternoon. The crowd looked huge from the entrance but everything flowed well; very minimal waits at each vendor. We are definitely going again next year!

So for the 1star it was only because $5.00 ticket on Monday afternoon. The rest was a joke. 14 year…read moreold birthday and No nachos and cheese, no pretzel with cheese, no Carmel or cheese popcorn, they had regular popcorn but no butter. A guy stood behind the counter and said candy and popcorn for sell, 1 bag of cotton candy. Went to fill up soda and no small lids. He went to the back and threw about 20 on the counter with the rest of the sleeve and walked away. It's 12:30 in the afternoon and on a Monday. I don't go to the movies but maybe twice a year and both times out of items to order. This place has really gone downhill and needs new management to do a better job.

Nice local theater. Most movies only have a few people in the theater if you wait a few days after…read morethe release so you get space from other customers. Nice food and snack selection and decent theaters

Great events center for NMU Hockey games and the food selection is way better than i thought it was…read moregoing to be. I like the Mexican grill a lot and the giant pretzel stand too!

I have seen many hockey games here at "The Berry". It's a great place to watch a hockey game. The…read moreconcessions are reasonably priced and suitably adequately average in quality. You can get a great view of the ice from pretty much every seat. This place gets packed for big games especially when Michigan or Michigan State come to town, so get your tickets early from the bookstore in the University Center, Dome, or Berry. Parking is ample, but be prepared to pay $2 unless you want to park on the street. Overall a nice facility perfect for a night of great college hockey!