TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The 99th National Cherry Festival launched Saturday, June 28, bringing in an estimated 500,000 visitors to Traverse City over the eight-day festival.
Each year at the Cherry Festival, a giant printed map invites visitors to mark their hometowns with push pins. From all corners of Michigan to every stretch of the U.S. – and even from across the globe – the board quickly fills with a colorful constellation of travelers. And for different reasons.
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Visitors from all over the planet have been flocking to the bayfront, snapping selfies and soaking in the city’s colorful transformation. Throughout the festival, attendees have enjoyed live concerts, air shows, a classic car show, an arts & crafts show, lots of food (cherry-themed and otherwise), parades, the midway, and a packed schedule of events.
High-flying thrills.
The air shows, always a big crowd pleaser, drew enthusiastic crowds during the opening weekend. WCMU Public Media reported that the Coast Guard kicked off the show with a search and rescue demonstration, bringing a “swimmer” to safety in MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters. The show also included “a special flyover, approved by both the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station and the Pentagon, featured two AV-8B Harrier II’s and an F-35B.”
Though neither the Blue Angels nor the Thunderbirds appeared this year, attendees were more than satisfied with the high-octane aerial acrobatics of the show, including National Guard units with the C-130 and F-16s.
David Bearss, a member of the Air Show planning committee. said, “Really the highlight is that although we don’t have a big jet team, we have a lot more variation in the rest of the show and are able to feature some things we don’t normally have in town.”
Big sounds by the bay.
Live music has been a major draw this year including Cheap Trick, Collective Soul, Weird Al Yankovic, and Trace Adkins who have all headlined the Pepsi Bayside Music Stage, drawing packed audiences. Grand Funk Railroad and 38 Special are still to come on Saturday, July 5, the last day of the festival
By the numbers.
Northern Express took a deep dive into Cherry Festival stats and here are some numbers that they came up with:
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• 1925: The year of the first official Cherry Festival. Held on May 22, 1925, local businesses partnered with local cherry farmers to promote the industry.
• $4.5 million: Annual budget for the festival.
• 2,800: Number of volunteers to help make the festival a success.
• 10,000: Estimated combined total of hot dogs and brats consumed during the festival.
• 219: Number of entries in the two parades (Consumers Energy Community Royale Parade on Thursday and the DTE Energy Foundation Cherry Royale Parade on Saturday).
Wrapping things up.
The grand finale on Saturday, July 5, promises to send the 99th National Cherry Festival out with a cherry on top. Still ahead for Saturday: the Meijer Festival of Races, the splash-filled Ultimate Air Dogs Finals, the DTE Cherry Royale Parade featuring the fan-favorite Petoskey Steel Drum Band, and the crowd-pleasing Go for the Gold pin drawing with the winner getting a two-year lease on a Toyota Camry. The night caps off with a Grand Funk Railroad and 38 Special concert followed by a fireworks show for anyone who missed the Fourth of July spectacle.
Whether it’s the pies, the parades, or the patriotic flyovers, one thing is clear — Traverse City knows how to throw a cherry good party. With hundreds of thousands of visitors, thousands of volunteers, and more brats than you can shake a stick at, the National Cherry Festival proves once again why it’s one of Michigan’s most beloved summer traditions.
