National Cherry Festival
The National Cherry Festival is held annually in Traverse City during early July, celebrating the cherry industry in northwest Michigan. The cherry festival is one of Michigan's largest, with an annual attendance of more than 500,000 guests and an estimated $26 million local financial impact. The festival has a midway, food court area, farm market and live music. There are more than 150 different activities and events over the eight-day festival.
Charlevoix Venetian Festival
Charlevoix is home to an annual Venetian festival celebrating its community's location on Lake Michigan and several inland lakes. The Venetian festival originated from a candle lit boat parade and now has grown into a week-long celebration. It features nightly live music, a carnival and sporting tournaments, and there is still a boat parade to cap it off. Events are held throughout the city at the different water venues and parks. This festival is held in the middle of July; most events are free of charge.
Paw Paw Wine and Harvest Festival
The Wine and Harvest Festival is held in Paw Paw annually the weekend after Labor Day and celebrates the area's rich wine and agriculture community. This area of Michigan is home several wineries and is mostly all rural farming communities. The weekend festival has a carnival, grape stomping and live music. The big draw is the wine and beer tent, which has tastings from local wineries and brewers.
St. Joseph Venetian Festival
The beautiful beach town of St. Joseph holds its Venetian festival during July every year and celebrates its history of being a Lake Michigan port town. The four-day festival is filled with events such as live music, a carnival and a boat parade. Saturday night includes the best fireworks show that can be found anywhere. It is located right on the channel, and guests can watch from the beach. There is also a large midway that is very popular with kids. This very busy festival is one of Michigan's biggest, bringing in out-of-state visitors, mainly from Illinois, who frequent the area.
