TRAVERSE CITY -- Jack Smith held a phone to his ear, clicked from one call to another, then hung up and answered a two-way radio attached to his lapel.
Smith directed volunteers around the Open Space near West Grand Traverse Bay from his golf cart perch, and pulled out blueprints to check the layout. Again.
"If you want to talk, you'll have to hop in," Smith told a bystander.
Smith, a longtime Traverse City resident and 31-year volunteer with the National Cherry Festival, was among the workers who buzzed the soggy Open Space early this week in preparation for the 83rd annual festival that begins Saturday and runs through July 11.
He zoomed the site in a rain-soaked cart and rattled off details like, well, someone who's been at it over three decades.
"Right now, the food merchant tents are going up," he said as he sped off to check on Dumpster and ramps for vendors. "Electricians are busily wiring for the food vending area."
It takes about 40 workers and 2,000 hours of labor to complete the setup, with a Friday completion date goal, said Smith, who swung around and waited for a Gibby's French Fries trailer to clear a driveway. He then barreled to the opposite side of the Open Space to secure large security lights.
Cherry Festival setup crews are comprised of various faces from varied places. They may be local residents, festival boosters, inmates from nearby Camp Pugsley, or kids from Michigan Works Youth Corp.
"I"m 61 and I was working with the Cherry Festival through the Boy Scouts since I was 14," said Larry Gray, a medical first responder.
Giving back to the community is the number one reason volunteers return to the Cherry Festival year after year.
"I was born a volunteer," said Gray. "I did ski patrol for 45 years as a volunteer, and Special Olympics for 18 years."
The Cherry Festival is heavily reliant on volunteers, and with more than 150 events on tap, there's always plenty to do.
"My job is making sure people get all the stuff they need to run their event. Tables. Chairs. Both off-site and on-site," said Andy Bathje, 25, a Traverse City resident who's volunteered since he was six.
"My mom was the director of children events," said Bathje. "I was her right-hand person."
Smith's golf cart prowl around the Open Space continued with stops to inspect fences and a swing near the bay, close to the sound stage entrance. His roots run deep with the festival -- president in 1989, trustees board chair in 1995-96 -- and the retired real estate developer lives for this time of year.
"Now I just get to enjoy volunteering at the Open Space. Even (Tuesday) when it was soaking wet. Fourteen days. Five days of set-up, eight days of festival, and one day of cleanup. They're all fun."
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