Cherry Fest lovers from near and far

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Eric Herrmann sticks a pin in his hometown of Crittenden, Ky., in a map near the entrance to the National Cherry Festival at the Open Space. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

July 11, 2012

Cherry Fest lovers from near and far

BY JAMES RUSSELL jrussell@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Wed Jul 11, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Kahiso Erickson scanned multiple maps near the Open Space, in hopes he could mark his home with a pin.

The Michigan map wouldn't work, and he couldn't find it on the one with all 50 states, either.

Finally he settled his red pin on the global map, right on Singapore.

"We're living there now, but we're originally from Ann Arbor," said Kahiso's father, Lance Erickson. Lance's father owns a home in Pentwater, and the family tries to visit Michigan as much as possible from their home in South Asian.

"My kids have been coming here every year, and now summer vacation is always Michigan," Lance said. "We like to travel, but our kids say they just want to go to the cottage ... It's a good plug for Michigan. We say, 'What about the Eiffel Tower?' but they say, 'No, we want to go to the lake."

Like a magnet, the Cherry Festival draws visitors to northern Michigan. The Open Space maps are dotted with pins — some as close as Kingsley, others as far away as, well, Singapore.

Hotel and business parking lots are filled with license plates from across the country, from California to Maine.

The Hyngstroms, of Houston, are spending a few weeks with in-laws in Traverse City before they settle in a new home in Salt Lake City. John Hyngstrom said Michigan's cool air is a welcome relief from the blistering summers they suffer through in Texas.

"That was so sad to me when we moved there, because when summertime comes, I expect to be outside and have nice weather. That's not the case. But now we're here, and that's exactly why we came up here," he said. "It's so nice. Just a beautiful time of year here."

It's the first time at the festival for the Hyngstroms. Kathee McCafferty, manager of the Visitors Center near the festival's epicenter, said they are seeing plenty of "first-timers."

"A lot of those folks say the reason they came up and gave it a whirl was Pure Michigan," McCafferty said, referring to the popular promotional campaign that highlights different parts of the state, including Traverse City.

Relatively cheaper gas prices also encouraged more people to make the drive from neighboring states, McCafferty said. They counted more than 5,000 people at the Visitors Center over the weekend, and another 1,200 on Monday, which is typically one of the quieter days of the festival. Total numbers are about on par with last year.

Debbie Nicoline, of McHenry, Ill., joined the crowds downtown Tuesday. Nicoline is a frequent visitor to the region, but she always seemed to miss out on the Cherry Festival. She was surprised and happy to see her visit this year was timed perfectly with the annual event.

"We've come up here 13 years, and this is the first time we hit the Cherry Festival. We usually come up at the end, but this time we came up at the beginning," Nicoline said.

Nicoline frequently travels to Door County, Wisconsin's own 'pinky finger,' but she rates Traverse City above even that popular destination.

"I love Traverse City. I swear your cherries are sweeter," she said. "It's like a big town with a little-town atmosphere. It's not Chicago. It's not Milwaukee. It's just nice."