Over two dozen people wait in line at New Age Tattoo Studio in Marquette to get an Upper Peninsula or Lake Superior tattoo in celebration of 906 Day on Wednesday . New Age Tattoo Studio posted on Facebook that the studio was hoping to break the record of 400 906 Day tattoos. (Journal photo by Dreyma Beronja)

By DREYMA BERONJA

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — Across the Upper Peninsula, residents showed their U.P. pride during the 12th annual 906 Day celebration.

Sept. 6, or 906, is an annual celebration of the U.P.’s area code. The first celebration occurred in 2011 by Marquette-based entrepreneur, photographer and “official unofficial ambassador of the Upper Peninsula” Bugsy Sailor.

“906 Day started in, I believe, 2011, it was a spur of the moment decision. That morning of September 6th I looked up and realized ‘that date looks a whole lot like 906’ so I looked it up and saw that nobody was doing anything with it, so I decided to run with it and make every Sept. 6 into 906 Day,” Sailor said in a previous Mining Journal article.

On the 906 Day website, Sailor shared ways to celebrate including buying a friend a pasty, swimming in Lake Superior or playing a game of euchre.

But for some, celebrating 906 Day means waiting in line to get a tattoo of either the Upper Peninsula or Lake Superior.

For several years, New Age Tattoo Studio has hosted its version of Yooper Day, with discounted tattoos of U.P. or Lake Superior tattoo outlines.

“Our record for this event is just over 400 in one day,” New Age Tattoo Studio posted on Facebook. “We are geared up and ready to crush that record.”

And despite the gray weather, a line of locals waited outside New Age for their own 906 Day tattoo.

“I came with my girlfriend because it’s her birthday and coincidentally the 906 Day,” Owen Pop said. “I just figured, you know, why not get a tattoo of the Upper Peninsula, where I’m going to school.”

He said by participating in 906 Day, he celebrates being in the U.P. and is able to show his Michigan pride.

Other locals, like Kylie Mitchell, had been waiting in line for almost two hours for their U.P. tattoo.

“I think it’s something fun to do for the day, it gets us out on the street for the day and we’ve met so many new people and made so many new friends already,” She said. “It’s special being up here and being able to celebrate the beauty.”

But for those not ready to make the commitment of a tattoo, small businesses such as Beth Millner Jewelry released 906 Day-themed pieces to wear all year.

She said since opening in 2012, the store has carried U.P. jewelry. This year was the biggest release the store has had in years for the store’s U.P. collection.

“The 906 Day collection is really inspired by the love of the Upper Peninsula, and so there’s several pieces that have the Upper Peninsula in the designs and several that has Lake Superior,” Millner said. “In the U.P. pieces, they’re smaller and more delicate designs that are for people who like more dainty jewelry and larger pieces for people who really want to make a statement with their Yooper pride.”

To view the full 906 collection, visit bethmillner.com/collections/upper-peninsula.

For more information on 906 Day, visit 906day.com.

Dreyma Beronja can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 548. Their email address is dberonj@miningjournal.net.