Quick, when you think of cherries, what comes to mind? Perhaps a homemade cherry pie, still warm from the oven. Or maybe a handful of red, juicy lovelies to savor one by one while slowly rocking on a porch swing.
Chances are, you didn’t visualize yourself running through a cherry orchard with boughs of fluffy pink and white blossoms floating overhead. And you almost certainly didn’t conjure having your naked body scrubbed with cherry scented sea salts and then smeared with fragrant cherry lotion. But experiencing these delights broadened my appreciation of the humble cherry. And that’s just how the folks in Traverse City, Michigan like it.
A seven- hour drive from Cleveland, Traverse City is blessed with topography and weather that allow it to grow 37 percent of the nation’s tart cherry crop each year, making it the cherry capital of the world. (The state of Michigan produces 75 percent of the U.S. tart cherry crop.)
While thousands of people make the pilgrimage to Washington D.C, each spring to see the blossoming cherry trees that line the Tidal Basin, Traverse City has got the nation’s capital beat for sheer volume. The town boasts well over 2 million cherry trees, yielding an annual average of 160 million pounds of cherries.
Residents don’t want you to consider the cherry as a mere adornment for the bottom of your cocktail or the top of your ice-cream sundae. This is a town where you can find anything and everything cherry, from a slice of pie (Grand Traverse Pie Co.’s is famous) to an edible cherry postcard.
May is the best time of year to see the flowering trees in all their glory. Then when the cherries ripen in July, Traverse City holds the National Cherry Festival. The eight-day event attracts over 500,000 people, and celebrates the region’s unique qualities that make cherry growing possible. Visitors can pick the scarlet berries and indulge themselves in a cherry-themed celebration of food, musical events and over 100 family-friendly activities, 85% of which are free.
Where to Stay
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, 100 Grand Traverse Blvd., (800) 748-0303, www.GrandTraverseResort.com. This 660-room property on the shores of Lake Michigan includes three golf course and a shopping gallery and is an Audubon International Certified Cooperative Nature Sanctuary.
Very Cherry
National Cherry Festival, July 1-8, 2023 (231) 947-4230, www.cherryfestival.org
Barbara Wayman is the author of Living An Extraordinary Life: 9 Transformational Strategies to Live Your Best Life Now.