Dan Benishek: “This week northern Michigan is proud to host the 90th Annual National Cherry Festival in Traverse City. The festival…”

“This week northern Michigan is proud to host the 90th Annual National Cherry Festival in Traverse City. The festival consists of over 150 events and activities with over 500,000 attendees over the course of 8 days. The cherry festival celebrates not only the delicious Michigan cherry treats on dinner tables for millions of Americans, but the enormous economic impact of cherry production. In fact, just this past year, Michigan companies produced 75 percent of the Nation's tart cherries, with 50 percent of those grown in Michigan's First District. This past month we were proud to bring a little bit of the festival here to Washington, D.C. The cherry festival queen, Danielle Bott, came to visit my office, bringing along some great cherry festival spirit and pie. I was honored to show her around the Capitol and introduce her to Speaker Ryan. I want to thank all the organizers of the cherry festival, the thousands of volunteers, and the hardworking Michigan farmers who bring us cherries and all the delicious Michigan agricultural products. We are so happy to enjoy the fruits of their labor. ____________________”