Years in The Making: Northern Michigan Names Celebrating Milestone Anniversaries In 2026

The New Year is nearly here, and with it, major milestones for many of northern Michigan’s most iconic businesses and organizations. Here’s a look at who’s ushering in 2026 eyeing an anniversary, what it took to get them here, and how they plan to celebrate.

North American Vasa – 50th Anniversary
When the North American Vasa held its first blustery nordic ski race in 1976, just a few dozen skiers showed up for the Park Place Hotel-promoted event. As Vasa President Emeritus Pete LaPlaca told The Ticker back in November, the early focus was “on really high-end racers, very competitive racers.”

Fifty years later, Vasa’s ditched the promotional angle and lost at least a little of its competitive edge in favor of a more community focused approach. It’s also made gains in its participation, with over 600 skiers expected at February’s weekend long event.

Vasa’s trails, which inject an estimated $2.6 million in direct regional spending through year-round recreation and competition, also helped bring one of Traverse City’s latest trail projects to fruition by way of Vasa co-founder Ted Okerstrom, who advocated for the paved, four-mile Boardman Lake Loop Trail and its new bridge, (an area that early Vasa organizers initially hoped to incorporate into the course before they called the Vasa Trailway home in 1991).

Another early-Vasa staple, the 50k, is making a comeback at this year’s Valentine’s-weekend race, held at Timber Ridge Resort. Afterward, Vasa will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a party at the Park Place.

Rotary Charities of Traverse City – 50 Years
Traverse City’s Rotary Club caught rare luck in 1976 when oil and gas were discovered under Camp Greilick (property the club owned back then). That windfall launched Rotary Charities of Traverse City which has since distributed more than $76 million across the five-county region.

While 50th anniversary celebration plans are still in the works, the latest grant cycle awarded more than $600,000 to community initiatives, including seed funding for a transitional home renovation for the Women’s Resource Center and a Norte-led bicycle safety program for elementary students.

Northwestern Michigan College – 75th Anniversary
It's hard to believe there was ever a time NMC had barely enough students to fill a classroom. But when it opened in 1951 with just 65 students and 6 full-time employees, it was still a ways from what President Nick Nissley calls “a cornerstone of the community.”

Today, enrollment has grown to 3,460 across five campuses, and the college has expanded access to include university partnerships and remote and flexible learning. Something else has changed since the school first opened its doors, says Nissley. “Community college students these days juggle so much more than they used to,” balancing finances, families, and jobs against the pressures of academic life, leading NMC to add resources like after-hours counseling and food and hygiene pantries to support its students through graduation.

As the institution celebrates its 75th year, a Community Block Party is planned for April 25, with more events listed at nmc.edu/75

Oleson’s Food Markets – 100th Anniversary
Milk cost 35 cents a gallon back in 1926 when Frances and Gerald Oleson opened the tiny grocery store on West Front Street that would spend the next century growing into northern Michigan's one-stop shop for everything from bread to sidewalk salt. While that first iteration is now an empty lot next to modern-day Loco Boys Brewing, a fourth generation of Oleson’s family works alongside one another, having grown the business to four stores across three counties. Through partnerships like Food Rescue, they’ve also given back more than 1.1 million pounds of food and $1.79 million in funding through their Community Share Program over the years.

As they kick off their centennial year with in-store celebrations running throughout the month of June, Marketing Director Sam Oleson is asking the community to help build a detailed timeline of the store’s history by sending memories and photos to info@olesonsfoods.com

National Cherry Festival – 100th Anniversary
What started as a sporadic springtime “Blessings of The Blossoms” hosted by regional agriculture leaders is now summer’s National Cherry Festival. Love it or avoid it, the eight-day run brings an estimated 500,000 visitors to downtown Traverse City annually and when this year’s Classic Car Cruise starts up on the evening of July 3rd, it commences Cherry Festival’s centennial celebrations which organizers are still finalizing (winter is peak planning season) but longtime favorites like the Kids Cherry Pie Eating Contest and Ultimate Air Dogs are already on the calendar.

America – 250th Anniversary
As July marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Boom Boom Club will once again host Traverse City’s 4th of July fireworks display, while Interlochen Center for the Arts begins its own centennial celebration (the school will turn 100 in 2028) a little early, to align with the national milestone.

March 7–15, Academy students will perform alongside the Detroit, Boston, and Philadelphia orchestras as part of the Imagine US: Celebrating America at 250 tour, featuring students from all seven of Interlochen’s artistic disciplines, including visual arts and dance in a production that president Trey Devey says will “embody the ideals we hold most dear at Interlochen.”