National Cherry Festival
| National Cherry Festival | |
|---|---|
| Begins | July 5, 2014 |
| Ends | July 12, 2014 |
| Location(s) | Traverse City, Michigan |
| Inaugurated | 1925 |
| Most recent | 2013 |
| Website | |
|
www | |
The National Cherry Festival is a festival in Traverse City, Michigan. The Original National Cherry Festival began in 1925 as the Blessing of the Blossoms Festival. This Festival was originally an event held in early May to attract tourists to Northern Michigan to view the booming cherry blossoms. In 1931 the Michigan Legislature renamed the festival the National Cherry Festival, and moved the event to the summer.[1] The Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula restarted this tradition in 2004 by hosting the Blossom Days Festival. The festival is a two-day event with a non-denominational ceremony taking place to bless the cherry and grape blossoms for the coming growing season. The 2011 Blossom days event took place on May 14 and 15 and the Blessing of the Blossoms was performed by Bishop Bernard Hedba and took place at Chateau Chantal.[2] Founded in 1925, the mission of the National Cherry Festival is to celebrate & promote cherries. It also serves to promote tourism and community involvement, and to enhance the economic, entertainment, and cultural interests of the Grand Traverse region.
Every year more than 500,000 attendees enjoy the National Cherry Festival, which is now in its 86th year. Families can enjoy many kinds of activities from cherry pit spitting and pie eating contests, to the Grand Royale Parade in which the newly crowned Cherry Queen greets the crowds. There is also a Junior Royale parade for children and a Festival Airshow, including periodic visits from the Blue Angels.[3] In addition, to the National Cherry Festival, there are a number of other cherry festivals celebrated around the United States.[4]
Originally held in mid- to late July to coincide with the cherry harvest, the Festival was moved to early July to take advantage of the July 4th holiday.
On July 25, 1987, Cherry Festival participants earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for baking the world's largest cherry pie. The pie was 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) in diameter, weighing 28,350 pounds. This replaced the pie baked nine years earlier in Charlevoix, Michigan. This record was held until July 14, 1990, when a pie weighing 37,740 lb 10 oz (17,118.9 kg), 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter was baked and eaten by approximately 1500 people in Oliver, British Columbia.