 | We love National Cherry Fesitval! Family Sand Sculpture Contest
Sunday, July 3
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Sand sculpture competition for families, groups and individuals ages 13 and up. Team Elmer's is proud to sponsor this fun time on the beach between the Open Space and the volleyball courts. No fee required. And click here to learn more about the kids only sand sculpture event, held on Friday, July 8.
Health by the Bay
Tuesday, July 5
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
As part of our campaign to "Hit Cancer Below the Belt," Team Elmer’s will host an educational and interactive booth in collaboration with Munson Healthcare and Traverse Health Clinic. Come by and see us at the Open Space!
Junior Royale Parade
Thursday, July 7
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Haven't seen Pinky, our cancer-fighting concrete mixer, yet this year? She'll be sparkling and grinning for the kiddos in the annual "don't miss" parade. As always, the route is Front Street to Union Street, then south to 7th Street. By the way, did you know the Junior Royale is one of the only kids parades in the country? Wow!
Cherry Royale Parade
Saturday, July 9
11:15 a.m.
Savor the last day of the Fest and wave to our Team members Vicky, Chet and Gary in their "cherry-ots" as they drive through downtown Traverse City. Cherry Royale route is Front Street to Union Street, then south to 13th Street. | |
Fireworks! Team Elmer's helps the show go on.
.jpg) Bruce Tyree is an entertainer, but he’s never in the spotlight. As co-owner of Great Lakes Fireworks, which he helped found in 1994, he has created fireworks shows across the Midwest since he became a pyrotechnician 20 years ago.
Tyree’s career has taken him across the world to visit fireworks factories in order to find quality products at low prices. He even visits China once a year. But he didn’t have to travel far to find a great deal right in northern Michigan. “Normally the way the fireworks shows work is that the customer has a budget and then we tell them what we can do for that budget amount,” Tyree says. “Now there’s just that much more that we can do fireworks-wise.” Team Elmer’s offer also allows Tyree to create more exciting and unique shows. He says his main goal is to include a “wow factor”; for the Festival fireworks this year, Great Lakes had shells designed in China that will display the Cherry Festival logo in the sky.
 Until the shows, the fireworks will be stored in a dumpster donated by Waste Management. Earlier this week, Great Lakes Fireworks and Team Elmer’s worked together to set up the barge from which they will take off near the shore of Clinch Park. As for the sand that is used, it must be clean and free of stones or gravel, and the large fireworks that Great Lakes uses must be completely buried in the sand before they ignite.
 The majority of Great Lakes’ shows are land-based, and that water barge-type shows are “definitely way more challenging.” Luckily, the Traverse City barge is located just of the coal dock near the marina, so the crews can pull their trucks out closer to the barge and boat shuttling is not necessary. Tyree also says that Team Elmer’s has been very helpful during this difficult process in the past. “They’ve always been great to work with, they’ve always been happy to help us and the people that they send out to the site seem to be more than happy to do so,” Tyree says. “We definitely appreciate that.” Want to see more? Click here for more photos of the fireworks staging process.
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