Michigan Goes Sweet on Cherries

As the USA’s leading producer of tart cherries, Michigan celebrates its heritage each year with the National Cherry Festival. Held in Traverse City, the Cherry Capital of the World, the festival is now in its 94th year and runs from 29th June to 6th July 2019.

Amongst the cherry-tastic events are the Very Cherry Flying Pancake Breakfast, the Cherry Pie Eating contest and the Adult Cherry Pit Spit contest, where competitors aim to beat the world record for cherry spitting of 95 feet and 6.5 inches (Guinness Book of Records).

The eight-day party features over 150 family activities: air shows, fireworks, parades (including the nation’s largest all-children parade) games, races, midway rides, demonstrations, nightly outdoor concerts and lots of chances to taste delicious cherry products. Now in its 94th year, the National Cherry Festival is Traverse City’s signature event, drawing as many as 500,000 attendees from around the world. Everything is conveniently located within walking distance, and since almost all the events are free, it offers more than a week of affordable family fun.

Cherry production in Michigan is a major part of the agriculture industry in the state, harvesting over 90,000 tons of cherries each year. The five counties around Traverse City make up the region that produces 40 percent of the annual tart cherry crop in the United States.

Traverse City is also home to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where towering sand dunes overlook a breath-taking expanse of water and islands. Sleeping Bear is a 64-mile curve of sweeping vistas, perfect freshwater beaches, forested wilderness islands and miles of hiking trails with 150 feet high sand dunes.

For more information on the National Cherry Festival go to www.cherryfestival.org, www.michigan.org, www.traversecity.com

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Note to Editors:

The State of Michigan is a state blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the longest freshwater coastline in the United States, lakes that feel like oceans, shimmering beaches, miles and miles of cherry orchards, glorious sunrises and sunsets, daytime skies of the deepest blue, nighttime skies scattered with stars.

Home to more than 100 public beaches, some of the highest freshwater sand dunes in the world, stunning multi-colored sandstone cliffs, two National Lakeshores and the only national marine sanctuary in the Great Lakes, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron. More than 129 lighthouses, numerous maritime museums, ten shipwreck-diving preserves and historic military fortifications rim Michigan’s Great Lakes shoreline.

Lakes, campgrounds, wildlife refuges and 103 Michigan state parks and recreation areas create a wide variety of recreational pursuits. Rivers for water sports, and thousands of miles of hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling trails thread their way among some 100 species of trees.

Long days, relaxing weather and more than 650 pristine Michigan courses make for the perfect tee time. Because being able to play all day is Pure Michigan. www.michigan.org

For all PR enquiries please contact Fiona Pettitt- [email protected], 01295 722 816.

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