Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net
Copyright 2014 by Brooks Vanderbush
All rights reserved
Cover courtesy of the History Center of Traverse City.
First published 2014
e-book edition 2014
ISBN 978.1.62584.961.8
Library of Congress CIP data applied for.
print edition ISBN 978.1.62619.426.7
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
Its easy to celebrate cherries because cherries are fun! And you can be sure that Traverse City is one of the most fun places in the world, as it produces 75 percent of the nations tart cherry crop, making Traverse City the Cherry Capital of the World and, thus, home of the National Cherry Festival.
Back when the festival first began, we had just switched from a lumbering community to a farming economy. You really have to give a lot of credit to our forefathers as they had the insight to establish somewhat of a tourism-based economy in the area. They used the Cherry Festival as a way to promote that tourism. They also saw that there was an agricultural component to it as well, so the cherry was used as a unique fruit that they could talk about downstate and in the region to attract tourists and also to draw investors to open businesses and buy vacation properties and such. It was a good marriage of tourism and cherries.
The mission of the National Cherry Festival to this day is to celebrate and promote cherries and community involvement in the Grand Traverse region. The cherry is still very much the pinnacle thing at the festival. We are very fortunate in this region. We live in an area that is not only beautiful, and one in which people want to recreate, but also one of the few places in the world wherein we can grow the caliber and variety of cherries that we are able to grow. This is a story that we can tell that other resort towns cant. Its really a fun, unique thing. The cherry is extremely important in both our marketing and our programming. A lot of the work we do, to this day, is for our local farmers and this exciting crop.
The cherry makes this area what it is. You couldnt have this sort of success with something like the Traverse City Festival. The cherry has really set it apart.
The celebration of Traverse Citys signature fruit has drawn millions of visitors from across the globe seeking a unique, family friendly experience that revels in agricultural and cultural tradition. The National Cherry Festival preserves the traditions that we all cherish by offering generations of fun to all that attend.
This festival is a part of the culture. This isnt just someones little brainchild festival; this is a part of the fabric of the community in Northern Michigan. Its Americana. Its been around long enough that its been ingrained into our minds over the years for all of the right reasons and for so long that it has stuck.
I grew up here, and I have vivid memories of parades as a five year old. Ive ridden on floats, and I was a prince. I went through it all. Then, there was getting older within the festival and going to my first big concert at the Cherry Festival. There are so many life memories attached to this one singular event that happens every summer in Traverse City. Its something thats larger than life. Its a festival for all people.
There are two thousand volunteers who are totally invested in this festival every year. We also have hundreds of businesses locally that donate time and money because they understand the economic impact and what the festival means to the culture and to the region.
The National Cherry Festival is bigger than just an event. This isnt just a festival. Its our way of life. Its who we are. The Cherry Festival will always be here. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and there will still be a Cherry Festival. You cant say that about a lot of things in this region. A lot of the time, whatever it is has a connection back to one person. Not so with this festival. I dont think anyone is going to let that go in this community because it is their festival. The community owns this festival, and the festival is there for and because of the community.
The National Cherry Festival is an American homecoming. Its the summertime dream of every child and every adults memory of their favorite hometown festival. A venerated agricultural celebration, the Cherry Festival takes you back to a simpler time and place, where a queen and her court still reign and a parade through downtown is still the most popular event of the year.
TREVOR TKACH
National Cherry Festival executive director, 2014
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Through the whirlwind that was the creation of this book, my little tornado has passed through the lives and the offices of so many. Each and every one of them helped me pull together the bits and pieces that make up this wonderful celebrations story.
Without them, this book would not exist. So allow me a moment to thank the folks who helped me the most in this venture.
Thank you to the lovely ladies of the History Center of Traverse City, who worked so hard to make my wacky schedule fit theirs and who were always there whenever a need arose. This book would not exist without the efforts and patience of Peg Siciliano, Maddie Buteyn and Laura Wilson. You guys rock!
Thank you also to the awesome people who inhabit the National Cherry Festival offices, especially Trevor Tkach, the festivals executive director, and Jessica Schlimme, the festivals volunteer manager.
Thank you to Lawrence and Lucille Wakefield, whom I never met but whose pictorial book on the festival was an outstanding resource into the 1980s. Thanks also to the Ludington Daily News for covering the festival so voraciously.
I also want to send a shout-out to the folks who contributed to this book and helped facilitate pictures, words and more. Specifically, the folks at Right Brain Brewery, Northern Natural Cider House, the Traverse City Senior Center and Traverse City Roller Derby. Also on this list are past National Cherry Festival president Denny Braun, Traverse City Area Public Schools teacher Sue Kelly, past National Cherry Festival queen Kelly Plucinski and Belle Photographys Dan Dinsmore.
Lastly, but most importantly, thanks to my lovely wife (and roller derby superstar) Lisa Kelly, who encouraged me every step of the way and who put up with many a text that said something akin to Ill be at the History Center until about 7:00 p.m. after leaving at 7:00 a.m. that morning for my awesome day job at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Thank you for putting up with that, me and handling those little kids of ours through the times when I should have been there taking over. I love you, mami!
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the National Cherry Festival, ladies and gentlemen! Ill admit, this journey that you are about to take through the festivals history and the stories that go along with it, as well as the discoveries you are about to make, is a journey that I took for the very first time while writing this book.
