Last Saturday, the National Cherry Festival (NCF) concluded the 87th incarnation of its weeklong event, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to the region. In the midst of the festival's full-scale clean-up operation this week, The Ticker spoke with NCF Executive Director Trevor Tkach about this year's challenges and highlights and possible plans for 2014.

The Ticker: After the crowds pack up and leave town, what happens for you and your team during this week immediately following the festival?
Tkach: We try to find our sanity again. (laughs) Actually, our first duty is to make sure the Open Space is as clean as it can be. We have staff, interns and volunteers out here doing sweeps of the park right now, picking up trash and making sure everything's in order. Back at our office, our team is sorting through this year's numbers, counting ticket stubs and cherry dollars, making sure the banks are reconciled. That process takes about a month or so.

The Ticker: What were some things that went really well this year? Conversely, what would you like to improve on next year?
Tkach: The entertainment seemed to be very well-received. Styx and Foreigner were our two biggest concerts; we sold over 5,000 tickets and had over 10,000 people down at the festival at Foreigner. The most feedback I got on anything was the night air show – people loved that. We also added buskers and musicians on Union Street to improve the ambiance, which made it feel safer and more family-friendly down there. And we used a new turf protector called PortaFloor that helped keep the grass in shape, especially in high-traffic areas in the Open Space.

We had one of our most positive festivals ever this year. Not much went wrong. That said, I'm big on quality and customer service, so I want to continue to push that envelope in coming years.

The Ticker: Some locals raised concerns about the festival's timing in relation to the cherry harvest, even calling for the event's dates and/or name to be changed. What is your response to those concerns?
Tkach: First of all, it's important to note that we did have Michigan cherries at the festival this year. They were harvested and brought in mid-week. In general, short of waiting until May every year to set the dates until after the trees have blossomed, it's difficult to time the festival perfectly to the harvest. We do work closely with the cherry industry, which understands our goal is to promote both cherries and the Grand Traverse region as a whole to a national audience. We had a higher impact with these dates this year than we would have had otherwise. That said, this was one of our earliest years; next year the dates will be later (July 5-12).

The Ticker: Related to the issue of local involvement, there is a significant amount of national corporate signage and branding down at the festival. Is there a point at which the event could become too commercialized? How do you balance those sponsorships yet maintain an attractive aesthetic?
Tkach: It's a balancing act, certainly. An important consideration for us is that 85 percent of our events are free and open to the public. When you go that route, you have to offset costs with another revenue model. For the festival, sponsorships are a huge part of that. Without them, we'd have to concede in other areas of the festival or even give up some events. There's definitely a trade-off there, one we're always working on.

The Ticker: What kind of relationship does the festival have with the downtown merchants? There's been some discussion, for example, that the festival food court might pull away diners from downtown restaurants.
Tkach: We work closely with the merchants, restaurateurs and the Downtown Traverse City Association to help facilitate (traffic downtown). We put a history exhibit in Federico's this year to bring people down to Front Street, and our festival app had games that encouraged people to visit downtown. Mostly, we've heard good feedback from the merchants. They understand the importance of this festival for the community. Even if it's not during the event itself, that money comes back around – dollars made during the festival eventually make their way downtown.

The Ticker: When will you start the planning process for next year's event?
Tkach: We're always planning for next year's event. (laughs) Our first round of discussions will start with a debrief of this event, getting feedback from the board, staff, volunteers and public. A lot of our programming stays the same each year, but some new planning is already in the works. The Blue Angels will be back in 2014. We're also going to focus on continuing to increase the caliber of entertainment...and putting on a better and better show each year. Not just for the tourists, but for the locals as well.