Traverse City commissioners addressed several projects related to parks and placemaking this week, including approving updated agreements with the National Cherry Festival and Traverse City Food and Wine to use city parks and approving two artistic sculptures to be installed in the North Boardman Lake District. Meanwhile, commissioners narrowly rejected a proposal from staff to install irrigation in the center medians on Grandview Parkway that would have allowed trees to be planted along the corridor.

Festival Agreements
Commissioners approved updated agreements this week with the National Cherry Festival and Traverse City Food and Wine to use city property for their upcoming summer events.

The city already had a contract in place for this year’s Cherry Festival but added amendments for new items “in connection with the 100-year celebration,” according to City Clerk Sarah Lutz.  Updates include festival use of the mini park at the corner of Front/Grandview Parkway for VIP parade viewing, as well as the east half of the city marina boat launch as staging for a new drone show this year. City streets including Union, Front, State, and Lake – plus city parking Lot J on Union – will be used July 5 for festival car and arts-and-craft shows.

The Cherry Festival mentioned several new or returning events in 2026, including a daily bingo tent at Clinch Park, a milk cartoon boat regatta on July 8 – with the DNR approving use of the boat launch – and bed races on Front Street from Park to Cass July 9 prior to the Community Royale Parade. As part of the 100-year celebration, the festival will host a special free Community Legacy Day on Sunday, May 3 from 11am-5pm on the front lawn of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The family-friendly event will honor first responders and feature family-friendly activities including a cake walk, hands-on crafts, a petting zoo, games, live entertainment, food, and opportunities to engage with first responders and emergency vehicles.

Commissioners also approved a new agreement with Traverse City Food & Wine to expand its event this year from three days to five days in the Open Space. The event will run Wednesday, August 19 through Saturday, August 23 at various locations around the region including the downtown park. While the event only offered beer, wine, and NA beverages in the Open Space last year, this year will expand to feature spirits and cocktail tastings as well. Those will primarily be featured at the Grand Tasting event on Saturday, August 22.

Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ness pointed out that while the event itself is five days, Traverse City Food & Wine will occupy the Open Space for nine days total, including set-up and tear-down. “I think we need to be very transparent about these types of details,” she said. Ness noted that Parks and Recreation is in the process of updating its fees for park usage, adding that festival agreements might look different in the future accordingly. City Manager Benjamin Marentette noted that organizers pay for every day they’re using the Open Space, including set-up and tear-down.

Traverse City Food & Wine will be preceded by a new event this year – also organized by Traverse City Tourism – May 14-17 called Forest to Fork: A Springtime Gathering. Featuring local chefs, farmers, artisans, and hosts for a variety of culinary events, it’s billed as a “tribute to the connection between land, table, and community.” Tickets are on sale now.

Boardman Art Project
Commissioners approved a plan for the Traverse City Arts Commission to spend up to $70,000 from the public arts trust fund to install two outdoor sculptures in the Eighth Street corridor in the North Boardman Lake District.

The installation is part of an ongoing partnership with TART Trails and other partners called the North Boardman Creative initiative to “contribute to the sense of place and vitality of the corridor through artful placemaking,” according to Traverse City DDA Deputy Director Lauren Bohac (staff liaison to the Arts Commission). The first project was the inaugural Traverse City Mural Festival last fall. The next project will be installing multiple “gateway” structures to add visual interest along Eighth Street, Bohac said.

One sculpture is proposed to be installed on city land at the corner of Eighth/Woodmere. Two other locations are in flux: The Arts Commission originally looked at the entry to Riverine Condominiums, but staff flagged that as an issue due to required access to underground utilities and a lift station. Another suggested site is the corner of Lake/Eighth as part of the Traverse City Housing Commission’s planned conversion of that property into a new workforce housing development. However, a deal would still need to be negotiated with the Housing Commission for that to occur, Bohac noted.

The Arts Commission will continue to work on finalizing the second location but has commission approval to move forward with selecting artists and funding the sculptures, with installation targeted for this fall.

Parkway Trees
Finally, a request from staff to irrigate the center medians along Grandview Parkway in order to plant trees throughout the corridor failed for the second time in two years.

Commissioners last year approved irrigating both the north and south sides of the Parkway in the city right-of-way, as well as the roundabout median at the M-72/M-22 intersection. But commissioners specifically excluded irrigating the center medians from Division Street to the roundabout, with several saying it seemed like a waste of money for decorative trees that wouldn’t be on city parkland or accessible to pedestrians.

Several commissioners reiterated that stance this week when staff again brought forward the proposal again. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Michelle Hunt said there was enough leftover funding available to irrigate the medians at a cost of just under $91,000. Doing so would allow the city to plant trees in each median, creating “visual continuity along the reconstructed corridor” along with traffic-calming, aesthetic, and environmental benefits. Without irrigation, trees would either die or require hand-watering that would be too costly and time-intensive long-term. Hunt said that if irrigation wasn’t available, a roadside seed “turf” mix would be planted instead.

Commissioner Heather Shaw said she thought the turf mix was still “beautiful” and didn’t want to encourage pedestrians to jaywalk or hang out in the medians by planting trees. Commissioner Jackie Anderson also said she didn’t want to “contradict the decision of our predecessors” who had previously rejected the proposal. Commissioners voted 4-3 to in favor of installing irrigation, with Mayor Amy Shamroe and Commissioners Lance Boehmer, Ken Funk, and Mitch Treadwell in support and Shaw, Anderson, and Ness opposed. However, because the expenditure required five affirmative votes to pass, the motion failed.