TAKE A BEAUTIFUL CHERRY TRIP!

MICHIGAN CHERRIES

The first cherry tree was planted in Traverse City in 1852 by the Reverend Peter Dougherty, a Presbyterian missionary who endeavored to convert local Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Michigan’s unique geography does for cherries what Bordeaux does for wine grapes. The region’s graceful hillsides sloping upward from cool lakes and bays, help to moderate climate, so cherries thrive.

Drive through the hills of the Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas in springtime to see endless masses of pink cherry blossoms. In summer, the beautiful red fruits are bountiful.  Take an orchard tour! McManus Southview Orchards and Gallagher’s Orchards are good bets.

Cherry history runs deep. In 1923, local churches began a tradition known as the Blessing of the Blossoms, imploring the powers that be to be generous with the cherry crops. It was the seed for the National Cherry Festival, now in its 86th year.

Visit Traverse City in July to sample the week-long festival and be treated to charming old-fashioned cherry-themed parades, music, fireworks, games and competitions. Indulge in a cherry pie-eating or pit-spitting contest (We opt for the pie eating test).

The Traverse City area alone produces over 75% of the world’s tart cherries -- the kind we love in pies and preserves.

While we are pie lovers through and through, we’ve learned that Americans are eating less pie these days. Pity! But never fear! Michigan growers and chefs are constantly developing new cherry recipe ideas -- with cherry everything from dessert to pizza! Try cherry beer wine, and hamburgers! There’s plenty to sample.

Check out the Cherry Republic store, in Glen Arbor, which sells more than 150 different cherry delicacies. American Spoon Foods is a longtime BN favorite -- we love their Sour Cherry Spoon Fruit, Cherry Mustard, and Cherry BBQ Sauce in particular. Old Mission Traders/The Cherry Stop is another destination for your cherry drive.

Beyond their gorgeous color and magnificent flavor, studies show cherries help you live more beautifully too --- tart cherries have been shown to reduce inflammation and arthritis symptoms, ease muscle pain after a workout and enhance sleep, according to the Cherry Marketing Institute.

So book your cherry fix trip soon. The season is very short for tart cherries – just a month or so. And because the fruit is so soft and delicate, tart cherries don’t ship well, so it’s best if you visit them in their neck of the woods.

Find info on cherry tours here.

Read more about Beautiful Cherry Red all this week on BeautifulNow.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!

Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Contest. We run new creative contest every week!

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Mike Norton, of Loving Traverse City. Cherries starting to ripen. Traverse City, MI.
2. Image: by Don...The UpNorth Memories Guy... Harrison. “Traverse MI Cute 1954 CHERRY FESTIVAL QUEEN Everil Meloche Sampling The Crop out of Cherry Lugs John Freeman Studios Photo and Card 2897 Unsent.” Traverse City, MI.
3. Image: Tart Cherries. Courtesy of State Eats. National Cherry Festival. Traverse City, MI.
4. Image: by Don...The UpNorth Memories Guy... Harrison. “NW Traverse MI c.1908. A Michigan Travel and Tourism Grand Traverse Region, Michigan Robin. ‘I Spend My Summers In Cherryland...Why Don't You?’” Original image by Orson Peck. Traverse City, MI.
5. Image: National Cherry Festival grounds. Courtesy of National Cherry Festival. Traverse City, MI.
6. Image: by Mike Norton, of Loving Traverse City. Cherry Blossom Hills. Traverse City, MI.
7. Image: Bucket of Cherries. Courtesy of National Cherry Festival. Traverse City, MI.
8. Image: by Citallwic. Sign at the Cherry Republic store. Glen Arbor, MI.
9. Image: by ElizabethHudy. “Traverse City, MI.”
10. Image: Picking cherries. Courtesy of Brookwood Fruit Farm. Almont, MI.
11. Image: by Gary Ennis. “Arnold Amusements.” Courtesy Cherry Festival. Traverse City, MI.
12. Image: Girl picking Cherries. Courtesy of Mike Norton, of Loving Traverse City. Traverse City, MI.
13. Image: by Don...The UpNorth Memories Guy... Harrison. “NW Traverse MI c.1920. Wonderful Regional Cherryland Welcome. Red Tart Black Dark and Light Sweet Cherries ‘GREETINGS from CHERRYLAND’” Original image by Orson Peck. Traverse City, MI.