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As of 2025-26 the Traverse City Film Festival has transitioned away from its multi-day summer format and operates as '52 Great Movies in 52 Weeks' — year-round screenings at the State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay, with Michael Moore still involved in programming.
The inaugural 2005 Traverse City Film Festival drew 50,000 admissions across 54 screenings.
The Traverse City Film Festival, founded by Michael Moore in 2005, permanently ended in May 2023 after nearly 20 years; Moore shifted focus to the State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay as year-round art houses, which remain operational.
The 1930s-era M-22 highway was among the first state routes designed around Great Lakes scenery, predating the later M-22 clothing brand sold in regional shops.
The Wall Street Journal named Traverse City one of the '10 Best Places to Go in 2025.'
The Traverse City/Grand Traverse region received 7.3 million visitors in 2022 — 11% above pre-pandemic — generating $1.4 billion in total economic impact and supporting 8,954 local jobs.
The Traverse City area hosts 40+ wineries across the Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas, known for Riesling and ice wine.
The Traverse City Film Festival renovated the State Theatre and established the Bijou by the Bay in downtown Traverse City.
The 2026 National Cherry Festival is the 100th, an event that began in 1925 as the 'Blessing of the Blossoms'; it runs July 4-11, spans 8 days, and draws over 500,000 visitors annually.
TCFF's traditional summer festival ended in 2023 and transitioned to 'TCFF Tuesdays' — 52 movies in 52 weeks at the State Theatre and Bijou, still running through winter 2026.
M-22 is a state-designated scenic highway running approximately 116 miles along Lake Michigan's shoreline from Manistee north through Sleeping Bear Dunes, around the Leelanau Peninsula, to near Traverse City.
The Greater Grand Traverse region generated $1.4 billion in tourism economic impact with 7.3 million visitors (+11%) in 2022, supporting 8,954 jobs and $134 million in state and local taxes.
Old Mission Peninsula is one of the few US regions capable of true ice wine: Riesling grapes are left on the vine until 15-18°F, then hand-harvested frozen — usually in the dead of night — with Chateau Grand Traverse the most prominent producer.
Commercial cherry growing in the Grand Traverse region began in the 1890s, following Peter Dougherty's 1852 plantings on Old Mission Peninsula.
Ann Patchett's Tom Lake (2023) is set on a cherry farm near Traverse City.
The Old Mission Peninsula AVA, established June 8, 1987, is Michigan's first and smallest AVA at 19,200 acres with about 1,540 vineyard acres; sandy soils over glacial limestone bedrock impart minerality, and Riesling dominates in every style from bone dry to ice wine.
Lake Michigan makes the Traverse City region uniquely suited to cherries: the lake delays bud break in spring to dodge frost, then extends warmth through fall harvest — a combination of sandy soils and lake-moderated climate that is hard to replicate at scale.
Michael Moore makes his home in Traverse City, where he co-founded the Traverse City Film Festival in 2005 with author Doug Stanton and photographer John Robert Williams.
The Old Mission Peninsula is a 19-mile finger of land extending into Grand Traverse Bay straddling the 45th parallel — the same latitude as the wine regions of Burgundy, Champagne, and Bordeaux, which local wineries market heavily.
A separate, unaffiliated Fresh Coast Film Festival (Traverse City edition) launched April 30 to May 3, 2026.
The five-county Grand Traverse region produces an estimated 40-75% of the U.S. tart cherry crop, and Michigan as a whole grows about 75% of U.S. tart cherries.
Traverse City showed increased day-tripping: 83% of July 2023 visitors stayed overnight versus 78.5% in July 2024, and Grand Traverse County's 2,300+ short-term rentals represent about half its lodging inventory.
The Fresh Coast Film Festival - Traverse City Edition is scheduled for April 30 - May 3, 2026, featuring films on Great Lakes and environmental themes.
Traverse City's National Cherry Festival is one of the oldest food festivals in America — the Cherry Capital of the World's signature event.
Michigan is the largest tart-cherry-producing state in the US; the 2024 crop hit 261.7 million pounds — the largest national crop since 2018-19 — with Michigan accounting for roughly 38% of US production.
The National Cherry Festival program includes a free Air Show viewable from West Grand Traverse Bay beaches, 100+ free family events, and a cherry pit spitting contest.
The five-county Grand Traverse region (Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska) typically produces 100-120 million pounds of tart cherries — about 40-50% of the entire US crop — plus roughly 80% of Michigan's sweet cherries, mostly processed into maraschinos.
Sour and sweet cherries peak from late June to mid-July in the Traverse City / Grand Traverse region, Michigan's primary cherry-growing area.
The Old Mission Peninsula AVA grows primarily Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay; the Leelanau Peninsula AVA clusters wineries near Suttons Bay and Lake Leelanau.
Grand Traverse County saw $630.8 million in visitor spending in 2023; nearly 29% of Traverse City jobs are tourism-connected, and the population spikes 47% between February and July.