BY LAURA WRIGHT
TRAVERSE CITY -- When Hilda Krystiniak met her future husband Frank, she may have received more than she bargained. But she wouldn't have it any other way.
"She started coming down here with me, right after we got together," said Frank Krystiniak, a longtime Cherry Festival volunteer. "I've been here 20 years, she's been here 10 years. It was part of the prenuptials," he said with a smile.
This year, the National Cherry Festival recruited close to 1,300 volunteers who covered over 3,000 shifts.
"It's just the desire to help out," said Briant Thomas of Traverse City. "Nothing profound, just to help out with the community. It's a community activity."
Thomas, a second-year Cherry Festival volunteer, works as a manager at AT&T.;
"Last year I worked the hole-in-one contest; this year I'm selling pins," Thomas said. "The difference has been night and day. At the hole-in-one, everyone wanted what I had to sell. This year, not everyone wants what I'm selling."
About one-quarter of volunteers request the same venue each year.
"A lot of volunteers really do get attached to the events that they work at," said Jennifer Parlette, operations and volunteer manager. "But, they're also flexible."
Some volunteer their time for the entire week, but some do so for only a few hours, or a day.
"I was recently disabled," said Belinda Wright, a first-year volunteer. "I can't work, so it's nice to have a purpose. I will absolutely be back next year. I've really enjoyed myself."
Not only do volunteers vary in the number of hours they work, they also vary in their points of origin.
"I keep coming back because I keep getting invited," said Chuck Chandler.
Chandler, who lives in Livonia, has traveled to Traverse City the past four years to volunteer during the festival.
It's not uncommon.
"The director of the beverage pavilion and beer tent lives in Detroit and comes to Traverse City and spends his entire vacation working for us," said festival spokeswoman Susan Wilcox Olson.
Another thing that isn't unusual among volunteers is that once they start, they tend to return year-after-year.
"I have a couple people who have been here more than 50 years," said Parlette.
Why do the volunteers return? It's the people.
"I was surprised by how easy everyone was to work with," Wright said. "How accommodating everyone is. It makes you want to help."
