12/10/24 6:30 p.m.
TRAVERSE CITY – We may be in the thick of the holiday season, but the National Cherry Festival has made some exciting announcements about the next couple of years. They’re quickly approaching the 100-year mark of the event which will be in 2026.
A Nighttime Airshow has been slated on the 100th year, mixing pyrotechnics and fireworks from the TC Boom Boom Club. As for the upcoming 2025 festival, the schedule for the airshow has been released and features the U.S. Airforce Air Combat F-22 raptor demonstration team along with the U.S. Marines F-35b lightning 2 demonstration team.
“We did have a night show in 2013, but it was planes with L.E.D. lights. We have not had planes that had pyrotechnics going on during the fireworks. So, it is choreographed. It is all together to music. A quite electrifying show of both the fireworks and two amazing pilots,” says Kat Paye, Executive Director of the National Cherry Festival.
And we’ll continue to bring more updates on the airshow, along with more additions for the National Cherry Festival.
12/10/24 3:15 p.m.
TRAVERSE CITY – As the National Cherry Festival approaches the celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2026, the Festival Foundation on Dec. 10 announced changes for its upcoming air shows, including fireworks and pyrotechnics.
“For decades the National Cherry Festival Air Show has been one of the largest and most popular air shows in the state. We are excited to light up the nighttime skies over West Bay,” says Kat Paye, National Cherry Festival executive director. “We are building on everything that makes this air show great by adding new elements never before seen in the region. The sky’s the limit!”
In 2026, the 100th National Cherry Festival Air Show, in conjunction with the TC Boom Boom Club, will produce “the region’s largest nighttime extravaganza” over West Grand Traverse Bay. The event will combine nighttime aerial performances with fireworks and pyrotechnics deployed from performing aircraft, all choreographed to music.
Pilots Nate Hammond of GhostWriter Airshows and Kyle Fowler of GO EZ Aerobatics, experienced night aerial performers, will fly their displays in the dark, illuminated by fireworks, pyrotechnics, and LED lighting. The nighttime fireworks performance is scheduled to start immediately after that night’s concert.
Meanwhile, the upcoming 2025 National Cherry Festival takes off as usual June 28-29. Learn more at https://www.cherryfestival.org/.