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00:00It's 105.1 The Bounce, the all-new morning rollout with Leisha B. and Clay, of course, I'm Leisha B.
00:04And today we are talking to two fabulous women who are telling us a little bit about what's going on in Traverse City.
00:11Let's talk about the Cherry Festival. Can you introduce yourselves, lovely ladies?
00:15I'm Tess Niko. I'm the 2024-25 National Cherry Queen.
00:19And I am Kat Pei. I'm the Executive Director of the National Cherry Festival.
00:22Thank you guys for being here. First of all, come on, crown. I know that's right.
00:26Yes, yes. How does it feel to be the National Cherry Queen?
00:30It's amazing. I've been going to the festival ever since I was little, and I've looked up to the Cherry Queen my whole life.
00:35So being her today has been very full circle, and I'm super excited to represent the festival this year, our 99th year.
00:41Yes, I heard it's the 99th year. So for anyone like me who's a little new to Michigan,
00:46what is the Cherry Festival, and what is the best part of the Cherry Festival to you both?
00:51Well, I would say the National Cherry Festival is 150 events in eight days celebrating all things cherry.
00:58We kick off June 28th to July 5th. It is the 99th anniversary of the event.
01:03So for 99 years, we've been celebrating cherries. We have concerts. We have air shows.
01:08We have the Festival of Races. We have everything you can imagine that involves cherries.
01:12I would say yes. It's amazing. I love all the events, but if I had to choose a few, one of my favorite is a cherry pie eating contest.
01:20That is, I'm really competitive, so I love digging into that pie, and of course, who doesn't like cherry pie?
01:25Exactly.
01:25Also, another one of my favorite is the cherry princess tea, and we get to, me and my court, we'll get to meet all the prince and princesses who attend, and it's a really fun time.
01:36All them wear their princess dresses, and it's a super fun time. So, I mean, there's so many events, though, I literally cannot decide.
01:43Honestly, you had me at cherry pie.
01:45I know, exactly, right?
01:47At this point, sign me up.
01:49So, with this year's 99th event, you obviously talked about the concerts, and I know that there's a crazy lineup, but I think the Bounce fans are going to love the fact that Atlanta is coming to Michigan.
02:02T.I. will be here. How exciting is that?
02:05Yes, we are excited. We are excited to have him on our Pepsi Bayside music stage. It's a beautiful venue on West Grand Trevors Bay, so from the stage, he will get to look out over the water.
02:15Wow. First of all, that's going to be an amazing shot.
02:17Yeah. So, yes, we know that T.I. is one of the headliners for the event, but I'm hearing that there's a special reason for him coming back this year.
02:27Yes, he actually didn't perform last year. He called us, and when the BET Awards were announced, his daughter was going to be receiving one, and he called us and said, you know, we really need to, I need to be there for my daughter, and it was like, absolutely, of course, family first.
02:41So, we canceled his show last year and then moved it to this year. So, we're very excited to welcome him in just a few weeks to our Bayside music stage.
02:51So, even more reasons for people to lock in those tickets.
02:54Absolutely.
02:55How hard is it to come up with the lineup and, like, what is going to happen at the Cherry Festival for you guys behind the scenes?
03:02I think the lineup is challenging because we do try to find something for everyone. So, I mean, the night before T.I. is Weird Al.
03:10Yes.
03:10And then we go into T.I., and then the next night we have Buck Cherry, Hinder, and a whole bunch of other stuff. So, it's very eclectic. And earlier in the week, we have Trace Adkins. So, that is the challenge of the National Cherry Festival is to find something for everyone.
03:26Right.
03:26Something everyone's going to enjoy over those eight nights. You know, as production will continue to go on, as we're advancing the shows, we're excited. Tickets are still on sale. You can get those at cherryfestival.org.
03:38Great place. Book your hotel rooms. Come on up. Enjoy the festivities. And we're going to put on a show for you.
03:44I love that. And what can they expect when they first walk and see the signage and everything? What is their experience when they walk into the National Cherry Festival?
03:54Cherries.
03:54Yeah. Cherry everything.
03:56Yes. Fresh cherries, cherry vendors, all things cherry. Every way you can consume a cherry or wear a cherry will be there.
04:05So, all of those things. Food, the smells of just festival delight. So, it's going to smell like french fries and elephant ears and pie. And you'll see the ice cream tent. And then you just walk around the corner from the ice cream tent. And here is the beautiful Bayside music stage.
04:23And then you've got our wonderful volunteers. We'll be right there ready to scan those tickets and send you on in there. And then we've got some wonderful concessions inside the Bayside stage, including some cherry margaritas, some cherry punch, and other things. Yeah. So, we are ready to have our concert goers come enjoy cherries.
04:42Cherry margaritas. Okay. Let's write that down for future reference, of course. So, any last words that you want to say about the Cherry Festival and what you want people to leave with after they leave from the festivities after the eight days?
04:56I can take some. Go ahead. Just a whole lot of memories. As I said, growing up, going to the festival, I always have just a new memory each year. And so, we just want people to come have fun. You know, eat full of cherries. Your belly better be full of cherries by the time you leave. And cherry pie, of course.
05:12But really, just to have so much fun. There's really nothing you can't find that's going to be fun for yourself there. But, Kat?
05:19Yeah. I think it's kind of the same. It's creating those memories. It's a great way to do something fun. It's a great way to do something together. Experience over items. You know, it's Father's Day weekend soon. There's all kinds of things going on. I think it's great to, you know, have fun as a group and come on up to Traverse City and get those rooms books still. Still available at TraverseCity.com.
05:41And then, of course, find things on our schedule to do. Plan your events. CherryFestival.org. Take a look at the full schedule of events and pick some fun things to do before the TI show. And, of course, then the next day.
05:54And then just run down the dates one more time and where they can get all this glorious information.
05:59June 28th to July 5th. And it is at CherryFestival.org.
06:03Perfect. Thank you, ladies, for being here. All the details will be waiting for you at 105 on the bounce.com.