Talking Cherries, Crowns, and Concerts: Meltdown Chats with the Queen of the National Cherry Festival
With the 99th National Cherry Festival right around the corner, I had the pleasure of talking in-studio with two awesome guests from up north—Tessa Nico, the reigning National Cherry Queen,…
With the 99th National Cherry Festival right around the corner, I had the pleasure of talking in-studio with two awesome guests from up north—Tessa Nico, the reigning National Cherry Queen, and Kat Paye, who pretty much runs the whole show as Executive Director.
So, How Do You Become a Cherry Queen?
Tessa’s got the crown, the sash, and the charm to go with it. But it’s not as simple as just loving cherries (although that helps). As she told me, it’s a pretty intense process.
“You decide you want to run, you’ve gotta be between 19 and 25 and live in Michigan,” she explained. “There’s a selection weekend, you give a prepared speech on the cherry industry or the festival, go through a bunch of interviews, and they narrow it down. Then during the festival week, they judge you secretly. It’s kind of intense!”
No talent portion, though. Which is a shame—Tessa’s got pipes. “I sing and do musical theater,” she said. “If there was a talent portion, I’d be belting something out for sure.”
She’s also local—growing up in Elk Rapids, just 20 minutes from Traverse City—so this fest has always been part of her DNA.
From Crown to College
When she’s not rocking the crown, Tessa’s a broadcasting student at Central Michigan University. “I want to be a sideline reporter for ESPN,” she said. “I already do sideline for basketball at Central.” I told her we need to hook her up with Christy Lee, one of our former Riff Rock Girls who’s now crushing it on TV. Tessa was all in.
Enter: Kat Paye, Festival Boss
Kat stepped in to break it all down. “This year’s Cherry Festival runs June 28 through July 5, and we’re celebrating 99 years of cherry madness,” she said. “Next year’s the big 100!”
They’re not messing around either. The lineup at the Pepsi Bayside Music Stage is loaded:
- June 28: Tyler Hubbard
- June 29: Cheap Trick & Collective Soul
- June 30: Trace Adkins
- July 1: Weird Al Yankovic
- July 2: T.I.
- July 3: Hinder, Buckcherry, and Pop Evil
- July 4: Hoobastank, Bowling For Soup, and Plain White T’s
- July 5: Grand Funk Railroad and 38 Special
That’s seven straight days of live music—with Pop Evil repping Michigan hard.
“We try to have something for everybody,” Kat told me. “From rock to country to hip-hop, even some weird Al for good measure.”
What’s the Queen Pumped For?
“I’m a T.I. girl,” Tessa admitted. “But I also love Tyler Hubbard from his Florida Georgia Line days. And my parents raised me on rock, so I’m excited for Hinder and Buckcherry too.”
Turns out her whole fam’s coming. “They’ve been supportive since day one. It’s full circle for them. They used to watch me walk around in little cherry dresses—and now I’m the Queen.”
Beyond Music: Parades, Planes, and Pie
Music’s just one slice of this cherry pie. Opening weekend features air shows with F-35 and F-22 jets, plus two parades, a pit spitting contest, pie eating, bubble gum blowing, sand sculpture competitions, a princess tea, and of course, the Queen’s Coronation.
“We have 150 events in eight days,” Kat said. “And we pull it off with 2,800 volunteers.”
Honestly, it’s hard to wrap your head around how much is packed into this festival.
And no, for the record, Warrant has never played the Cherry Festival. Yeah, I said the same thing—how the band that sang “Cherry Pie” has never played Cherry Fest is beyond me. Hopefully someone corrects that for year 100.
If you’re heading up north this summer, the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City is the place to be. Whether you’re there for the cherries, the concerts, the jets—or just to see the queen in action—it’s eight days of pure Michigan flavor.
Big thanks to Tessa Nico and Kat Paye for stopping by. See you up there!
