Missing at TC cherry festival: locally grown cherries

By AP

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Something will be missing from this year's National Cherry Festival in Traverse City -- locally grown cherries.

Farmers say the area's cherry crop will still be on the trees during the festival, which runs Independence Day through July 11.

Prolonged cool weather has delayed cherry growth and left the crop a week or two behind schedule. That will stall the sweet cherry harvest into early July and the tart cherry harvest to mid-month.

That's forcing festival organizers, stores and markets to import cherries from elsewhere. But the festival officials say plenty of cherries and cherry products will be available.