The National Cherry Festival is a festival in Traverse City, Michigan. It began in 1925 as the Blessing of
the Blossoms Festival, which was held in early May to attract tourists to Northern Michigan to view the
blooming cherry blossoms. In 1931 the Michigan Legislature renamed the festival to the National Cherry
Festival, and moved the event to the summer. Since 2004, a May event coinciding with blooming of the
cherry blossoms is also held again, as the Blossom Days Festival, in addition to what is now the better-
known National Cherry Festival.
Every year more than 500,000 attendees enjoy the National Cherry Festival, which is now in its 92nd
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. In addition to the National Cherry Festival, there are a number of other cherry festivals celebrated around the United States.
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.
See also
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ National Cherry Festival
- ^ http://www.NationalCherryMonth.com National Cherry Month
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