80th Annual National Cherry Festival, July 1-8

Remember the sights, sounds, and smells of a summer celebration in your hometown when you were a kid? Well, happy days return to Traverse City’s beautiful Lake Michigan shores July 1-8, 2006, during the National Cherry Festival featuring over 150 events including free air shows over the Bay, colorful parades & marching bands, music shows, sporting events, rides & carnival games on the midway, pie-eating contests, clean blue skies, warm sunshine, crowds of smiling faces, and loads of luscious cherries prepared every way you can imagine! For more information call. (231) 947-4230

A Short History of The National Cherry Festival
The Cherry Festival began in 1926 as the Blessing of the Blossoms Festivals in the spring. In 1933 it was renamed the National Cherry Festival and moved to mid to late July in order to coincide with the cherry harvest. It was then later moved again to early July in order to simultaneously occur with the Fourth of July weekend. The festivals annual attendence is now over 500,000 over the course of eight days. The National Cherry Festival has played host to many special guests and dignitaries, including President Gerald R. Ford, Former Astronaut James Lovell, PGA Touring Professional Dan Pohl, Jerry Mathers, and an assortment of Michgian governors.

Big Name Performers
This summer the Bay Side Entertainment Stage has two nationally aclaimed singers, Otis Day & The Knights (from Animal House), Grammy-nominated singer songwriter Keith Anderson, Grand Funk Railroad, and many more. To get the full listing visit The Traverse City Cherry Festival website. Otis Day & The Knights are playing Sunday, July 2nd, Keith Anderson is playing Tuesday, July 4th, and Grand Funk Railroad is playing Friday, July 7th.

Need Lodging?
Try the Leelanau.com home page!

Cherry Festival Links
National Cherry Festival web site
Food Network: Top 5 Video featuring the National Cherry Festival
FEATURE: Traverse City’s National Cherry Festival in the Record Eagle’s Area Guide
726 Cherry Related Recipes from FoodTV.com
National Cherry Festival from Wikipedia
The Unofficial National Cherry Homepage
Michigan Cherries
Absolute Michigan keyword search “Cherry”