Cherries jubilee in Traverse City

To celebrate our second wedding anniversary, Amar and I spent the weekend in Traverse City, Michigan. We also planned this particular trip to take part in the National Cherry Festival, which took place this year from June 30th to July 7th. The city is well-known for these delectable berries. The festival features two weeks of celebrations around the fruit – including a parade, a cherry farmers market, a cherry-food themed brunch and a carnival. I couldn’t wait for all the fun and festivities.

Since we were celebrating a special occasion and wanted to be close to all the action, we looked for a hotel with a central location downtown, and decided on the Park Place Hotel. According to the hotel’s website, when built in 1930, the 10-story hotel became the tallest building in Traverse City.

We left our home in Grandville, MI to head up north early Saturday morning. We arrived in perfect time – just before the parade was set to begin at 11:15 am. Once we found a clear path to the hotel through the traffic due to closed streets, we parked our car and quickly walked the short distance to find a spot to stake out to watch the parade. Now most people who know me know I love a good parade. Parades are ideal opportunities for the community to gather to celebrate an occasion and recognize the numerous businesses, organizations and people that help a city function. But not all parades are the same caliber. I’m pleased to say this parade was definitely a stand out.

The floats were festive, colorful and oh so sweet. There were many floats with candy themes: Starbucks, Hershey’s Kisses, M&Ms and more. There were many vintage cars that were fun to see. There were also multi-tier floats featuring waving “cherry princesses.” And plenty of Amar’s favorite type of parade entry: marching bands. Every few feet, the bands stop and perform. I even collected a few packets of fresh dried cherries handed out during the parade. As we sat and enjoyed the parade, we decided the perfect way to cool off after was to see a movie at the Bijou Bay Theatre. The theatre is situated right near the Grand Traverse Bay so it was our first look at the water during our trip. We saw “The Book Club,” which is a delightful story of four older women who embrace life and love after reading a well-known trilogy popular a few years ago.

After our movie, we went to sit by the water and enjoy the view. Then, it was finally time to visit the Cherry Market. Here, vendors were selling goods of all kinds, all cherry related. I got a cherry lemonade slushy and some amazing Great Lakes Potato Chip kettle cooked Michigan cherry bbq flavored chips. Trust me, these chips are amazing. After roaming around the market some more, we headed to the hotel to check in.

I made a dinner reservation Saturday evening at Poppycocks, an American restaurant on Front Street. I was choosing between two dishes and asked for the servers recommendation. I’m so glad I trusted her. My cheese baci dish featured tomatoes, asparagus, mozzarella and pine nuts with a balsamic reduction. I loved it. 

For dessert, we shared a cherry cobbler. It was a perfect meal from start to finish. To end our evening Saturday, we sat at the beer tent to enjoy the view of the bay during the sunset until the fireworks show. It was a truly wonderful day.

On Sunday, we took a final walk through downtown Traverse City before making our way to a must-see when visiting the area: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This is a gorgeous natural wonder that offers sweeping views of Lake Michigan from above. Amar and I visited the Dunes for the first time ever during one of our first dates in Michigan. It’s been a favorite spot of mine ever since. We drove through the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive to the top of the Great Climb. The National Lakeshore is a designated National Park. One look at the view from the Lake Michigan overlook and you’ll understand why. 

After our visit to the dunes, we began our drive home, stopping for pizza at a local restaurant along the way. It was a fantastic weekend to celebrate two years of marriage. I’m already thinking about visiting the National Cherry Festival next year.