National Cherry Festival

Traverse City ( 'TRA-vurs-SI-tee' or locally 'TRA-vur-si-tee') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 15,678 at the 2020 census, with 153,448 in the Traverse City micropolitan area. The Traverse City area is the largest producer of tart cherries in the United States, as of 2010. Near the time of cherry harvest, the city hosts the annual week-long National Cherry Festival in the first full week of July, attracting approximately 500,000 visitors annually. The surrounding countryside also produces grapes, and is one of the centers of wine production in the Midwest. Tourism, both summer and winter, is another key industry. The Traverse City area features varied natural attractions, including freshwater beaches, vineyards, a National Lakeshore, downhill skiing areas, and numerous forests. In 2009, TripAdvisor named Traverse City the number two small town travel destination in the United States. In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

The Traverse Area Recreational Trail (TART Trail) is a rail trail in Michigan and is part of U.S. Bicycle Route 35. It is a paved, non-motorized recreational trail of 10.5-mile (16.9 km) in length that extends from the west side of Traverse City (M-22) to Acme (M-72). Most, but not all, of the trail follows the 19th-century roadbed of the former Chicago and West Michigan Railway. The trail intersects other non-motorized trails in greater Traverse City, including the Boardman Lake Trail that skirts Boardman Lake, the Leelanau Trail with a connection to Suttons Bay, and the Vasa Pathway, a system of loop trails constructed for cross-country skiing and other non-motorized recreational use in the Pere Marquette State Forest east of Traverse City. The original TART Trail was constructed in 1991–95. It was enlarged and extended several times in 1995–2005. Eventually the trail will connect to the Little Traverse Wheelway, but for now segment 1 is being worked out to connect to Elk Rapids. Segment 2 between Lautner and Bates roads has no completion time, while segment 1 on is in a preliminary planning phase from Elk Rapids to Bates Road. Points of interest along the trail include: The shoreline of Grand Traverse Bay Clinch Park along the downtown bay-front Downtown Traverse City Traverse City State Park Traverse City Area District Library Beaches Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Local and regional transportation (Bay Area Transportation Authority) TART in Town (on-street bike route) Darrow Park F&M ParkThe trail's acronym "TART" pays tribute to one of the best-known agricultural products of the Traverse City area, the tart cherry or pie cherry. For similar reasons, the local airport is called Cherry Capital Airport.

The Bijou by the Bay () is a 150-seat nonprofit movie theater in a city park on Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan, next to the multi-use TART Trail. It is one of the venues for the Traverse City Film Festival.

The City Opera House is located at 106-112 Front Street in Traverse City, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The State Theatre in Traverse City, Michigan, United States was donated to the Traverse City Film Festival in May 2007 as a gift by Rotary Charities of Traverse City. The theater underwent restoration and was reopened on November 17, 2007. The Motion Picture Association of America listed the State Theatre as the #1 movie theater in the world. The State Theatre is located on East Front Street in downtown Traverse City and was founded and built by Julius H. Steinberg in 1916 and named the Lyric Theater. It was rebuilt in 1923 after a fire. It showed the first talking movie seen in Northern Michigan in 1929 when it was known as the Lyric Theatre. It was destroyed by fire again in 1948 and was rebuilt in 1949 in an art deco style and renamed the State Theatre. In 1978, the theater was twinned. It closed down in 1996, when the cinemas at the Grand Traverse Mall opened, and mall cinema owners GKC wanted business at those new theaters. GKC (now AMC) placed a deed restriction on subsequent owners of the State to prevent them from showing certain major Hollywood films. The theatre was revitalized before being used during the Traverse City Film Festival which began in July 2005. On November 17, 2007, the community celebrated the grand opening of the theater as a year-round art house.

The South Union Street–Boardman River Bridge, also known as the Trunk Line Bridge, is a bridge located on South Union Street over the Boardman River in Traverse City, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Park Place Hotel is a historic hotel in Traverse City, Michigan. Completed in 1930 by Benjamin H. Marshall, the 10-story building rises to a height of 125 feet (38 m) and is the tallest structure in the city.

The Perry Hannah House, also known as the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, is a house located at 305 6th Street in Traverse City, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The Central Neighborhood Historic District is a residential historic district, roughly bounded by 5th, Union, 9th, and Division Streets in Traverse City, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It includes the separately-listed Perry Hannah House. The district includes 459 structures.

Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) is a public school district based in Traverse City, Michigan, United States. This district includes 10 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools, 1 alternative high school, and 1 Montessori school. The district is headquartered in the Boardman Building, a former elementary school. In 2017, Traverse City Central and West High Schools were named among the most challenging in the country. The district serves as the second-largest employer in the city of Traverse City. As of 2017, TCAPS was the 18th largest school district in Michigan by enrollment.The district serves 9,468 students (as of the 2018-19 school year) over an area of 285 square miles (738 km2). This makes it the largest district in northwestern Michigan. The district encompasses about 1⁄2 of Grand Traverse County, about 1⁄6 of Leelanau County, and a few square miles of Benzie County.

The Boardman Neighborhood Historic District is a residential historic district in Traverse City, Michigan, United States, roughly bounded by State Street, Webster Street, Railroad Avenue, and Boardman Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

St. Francis High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Traverse City, Michigan. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord.