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Sleeping Bear Dunes rising above Lake Michigan
Rachel Kramer, CC BY

Michigan

Michigan for food travellers: the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, on Grand Traverse Bay, from 3 to 10 July 2027.

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Food festivals in Michigan

Parade at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse CityPetty Officer 2nd Class Levi Read, Public domainFruits & vegetablesJul 3 to 10

National Cherry Festival

Traverse City’s eight-day cherry festival, from 3 to 10 July 2027: cherry products to taste, parades, air shows and fireworks, with most events free.Traverse CityView

Cities and towns in Michigan

Vineyard rows with Grand Traverse Bay behind, Old Mission Peninsulastanthejeep, CC BY-SA1 listing

Traverse City

National Cherry Festival

Map of Michigan

Michigan, in the Great Lakes region, is made of two peninsulas almost surrounded by lakes. Its festival in this guide is in Traverse City, on Grand Traverse Bay in the north-west of the Lower Peninsula: the National Cherry Festival, set for 3 to 10 July 2027. The orchards around the bay grow cherries, and the festival celebrates them.

Getting around Michigan

Detroit and Grand Rapids have airports with connections across the country. Traverse City has its own, Cherry Capital Airport. A car is the practical way to explore the orchards and the two peninsulas north of town.

What to eat and drink

Michigan’s fruit belt runs along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, where the lake tempers the climate: cherries around Grand Traverse Bay, apples, blueberries and grapes further south. The Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas, north of Traverse City, have wineries known for cool-climate wines such as Riesling. Detroit has its own rectangular, thick-crust pizza style and the Coney dog.

Where to stay

For the cherry festival, Traverse City is the base. A car opens up the orchards and wineries of the two peninsulas north of town. Independence Day, 4 July, falls on the second day of the 2027 festival.