Cherry Festival by the Numbers

Inquiring minds want to know: Just how many fireworks, cherries, beers, and pins make the Cherry Fest go 'round?

By Art Bukowski | June 28, 2025

Traverse City’s signature festival is here at last, and there’s a lot that goes into this annual celebration before, during and after the big week itself. Northern Express checked in with the folks at the National Cherry Festival to provide a glimpse at the festival by the numbers.

1925: Though held informally for some years prior, the first official festival, known then as the “Blessing of the Blossoms,” was held on May 22, 1925. Traverse City businesses partnered with local cherry farmers in an effort to promote the industry. The first ever Cherry Queen (Getrude Brown) was crowned.

500,000: Estimated number of visitors over the modern eight-day festival. As most events and attractions are not ticketed (and spread across the city and region) it’s hard to get a more precise number.

$4.5 million: Annual budget.

2,800: Number of volunteers on the roster. Volunteers play an immense role in operations during the festival and throughout the year.

45,000: Combined total of volunteer (35,000) and staff (10,000) hours to operate the festival each year.

20: Total musical acts (including openers) on the Bayside Music Stage in 2025.

17: Total aircraft in the air shows. The air shows have long been a staple of the festival, with certain editions featuring the famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels. This year’s edition will feature an F-22 Raptor Demo Team and the F-35B Lightning II, among other planes.

12: Vendors at the festival food court. This does not include more than a dozen food and drink stands (including Gibby’s!) that operate in Arnold Amusements’ spaces.

50+: Vendors that supply items (tents, etc.) to the festival. The festival hires locally whenever possible.

17: Fresh cherry booths and vendors in the farmer’s market. The festival was founded to celebrate agriculture, and festival leaders still place a premium on this aspect.

“A little over 1,000:” Fireworks ignited during the fireworks shows.

25,000: Official festival pins made for 2025. Last year, 20,000 were made and sold.

3.5 miles: Length of extension cord owned by the festival itself. Some vendors also bring their own for various purposes.

60 pallets: Amount of ice used during an average festival.

10,000: Combined total of hot dogs and brats consumed.

4 pallets: Amount of pie used throughout the festival during the week.

150 miles: Rough total normally walked during the week by Operations Director Alexis Bremer.

30: Bottles of sunscreen used by staff (“Use 22, lose 8,” Executive Director Kat Paye says).

“150 hot dogs, 40 buckets of Gibby’s fries, 100 cherry pie flurries:” Food downed by staff alone, according to Paye.

A lot: Number of beers sold at the beer tent. Because the beer tent operates using “Cherry Dollars,” a perpetual token that can be redeemed year after year, it’s difficult to determine an exact number of beers sold. This system allows for flexibility, but makes tracking specific annual totals challenging. That said, the suds are flowing!

219 (and counting): Number of entries in the two parades (Consumers Energy Community Royale Parade on Thursday and the DTE Energy Foundation Cherry Royale Parade on Saturday). Entries were still coming before the parade entry deadline when this story was filed.

At least 90: Hours for setup and teardown. Setup requires a minimum of 70 hours, while teardown is 18-20 hours, commencing Saturday night as soon as the last firework has popped and continuing into Sunday.

75,620: Pounds of waste hauled away by GFL in 2024. Festival officials say 100 percent of waste captured was diverted from landfills through GFL’s waste to energy and recycling practices.