MSNBC - America's best food and wine festivals
IHT - Food-themed festivals thrive as growing declines
There's a lesson here for the Cherry Festival. Be careful about focusing more on the idea of the festival than what it is supposed to promote. Just look at Gilroy for an example. It was once the garlic capital, now there are only 500 acres left of garlic farms. If cherry orchards keep getting turned into subdivisions all that'll be left in northern Michigan will be street names such as "Cherry View Orchard Lane" - but there won't be any view there.
