The picturesque village of Jacksonport on Door County’s east coast invites you to the annual Cherry Fest on Saturday, August 6 sponsored by the Jacksonport Historical Society.
Door County cherries
Beautiful Lakeside Park on the shore of Lake Michigan is the setting for this 17th annual event that celebrates Door County’s cherry harvest. The Cherry Fest begins at 7 am with beverages and homemade cherry kolaches, fresh cherry pie and ice cream, as well as cherry sundaes for sale in the upper park shelter. The Jacksonport Women’s Club will feature their popular funnel cakes made “hot-on-the-spot” for all to enjoy.
The food booth will be open in the lower park shelter at 10 am including a wide variety of jams and jellies for sale. Door County Custom Meats owned by Keith and Jaci Birnschein will feature cherry brats and cherry burgers as well as a variety of ice cold beverages. Peter Stoffel will provide fresh Door County cherries for sale from his orchards.
A juried arts and crafts fair will feature a wide range of artists and craftsmen from all across the Midwest. Many favorite artists from past years will return for this renowned show as well as many new and amazing artists here for the very first time. Local artist Sandy De Master will demonstrate spinning fibers into yarn at 10 am.
Live entertainment will be featured free of charge during Cherry Fest hours under the big tent. Picnic table seating will be available in the tent area. Bring your own folding chairs or blankets for additional seating for the day. Starting at 10 am to 1 pm Matt Wahl, popular folk singer and songwriter, will entertain us. Modern Day Drifters a local group featuring country music will entertain from 1 – 4 pm.
Mayberry’s Carriages will provide horse drawn wagon rides from 11 am to 3 pm for a small fee. Loading will be near the corner of Park Road and Hwy. 57 just north of the Lakeside Park boundary.
A penny hunt will be held on the beach at 1 pm for the younger set attending Cherry Fest. Registration for the penny hunt is at 12:30 pm at the penny hunt site – the roped off beach area. Age groups are 3-5 and 6-8 year olds. Be sure to bring your cameras!
The Historical Society tent, set up in the Erskine Rest Area across the street, will feature the Jacksonport family memorabilia collection provided by members. All nine books published by The Jacksonport Historical Society- Jacksonport Through The Generations – will be for sale. The Society has many other items for sale as well.
For those of you who have never seen a root cellar, the completely restored Erskine Root Cellar will be open to the public for viewing during Cherry Fest hours. Four historical vehicles will be on display throughout the park. Back for another year the re-enactor Joe Jeanquart will once again feature pioneer living pre 1840’s and will have ongoing demonstrations of blacksmithing, fire starting, leather work and cooking throughout the day. Stop and view the awesome tipi and go back with Joe and his cohort, Randy Alexander to life as it was many years ago.
So come join us for a fun-filled day in the park to celebrate the cherry harvest and perhaps learn a little about Jacksonport’s history as well. We have something for everyone and maybe a surprise or two along the way. Look forward to seeing you August 6, 2011 in the park!
Check out our Web page for more details at www.JacksonportHistoricalSociety.org.
