28 Ways to Celebrate National Cherry Month
Short answer: You can celebrate National Cherry Month at home by baking a cherry pie for National Cherry Pie Day on February 20, cooking with tart cherries all month, and sharing the true story of George Washington's cherry tree on Presidents' Day. Stores, schools and offices can run cherry guessing games, trivia and tastings. Here are 28 ideas, one for every day of February 2027.
At Traverse Bay Farms we've been celebrating cherries since 2001, and several of these ideas come straight from our own stores in Elk Rapids and Bellaire, Michigan.
In the kitchen
Bake a cherry pie for National Cherry Pie Day on February 20. Start with our Classic Michigan Tart Cherry Pie.
Make a cherry breakfast. Prep a jar of cherry almond overnight oats the night before.
Bring cherry salsa to a game-day party. Our Firecracker Cherry Salsa takes 15 minutes and no cooking.
Pack a Northern Michigan lunch. Cherry chicken salad on a croissant is a cherry country classic.
Skip the pie crust. A tart cherry crisp goes straight into the oven with frozen cherries.
Cook a cherry Valentine's dinner. Cherry balsamic pork tenderloin looks fancy and takes 35 minutes.
Add dried tart cherries to everyday foods. Stir them into salads, oatmeal, rice dishes and trail mix.
Blend a cherry smoothie. Frozen tart cherries, yogurt and a banana make a bright winter smoothie.
With family and friends
Host a cherry potluck. Ask every guest to bring one dish with cherries in it, sweet or savory.
Tell the true story on Presidents' Day. Presidents' Day is February 15, 2027. Share what really happened with George Washington's cherry tree.
Make cherry Valentine's cards. Two cherries on one stem make a perfect pair.
Hold a cherry taste test. Compare tart and sweet cherries, or dried, frozen and canned, and vote on a favorite.
Paint a thumbprint cherry tree with the kids. Draw the branches, then add red thumbprint cherries and green leaves.
Learn about the 1912 cherry blossom gift. Read how the city of Tokyo gave Washington, D.C. about 3,000 cherry trees.
Plan a summer trip to cherry country. Put the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan, on your calendar for July.
Learn something new
Get to know the Montmorency cherry. It's America's most widely grown tart cherry, prized for its bright, tangy flavor.
Find out why Michigan leads tart cherry growing. Lake Michigan moderates the climate along the shoreline and protects orchards from extreme cold.
Read the history of National Cherry Month. Start with why February is National Cherry Month.
Read the labels. Look for cherries grown in the U.S. when you shop.
Visit a local farm market or cherry shop. Many stay open year-round with dried cherries, jams and sauces.
For stores, schools and workplaces
These are ideas we've run in our own Traverse Bay Farms stores, and they work for any shop, classroom or break room.
Guess the Number of Cherries. In our Elk Rapids store, we fill a clear container with dried cherries and let customers guess how many are inside. We announce the winner at the end of February, and the closest guess wins a Traverse Bay Farms cherry gift basket.
Share the Cherry Love Wall. Our Bellaire store has a cherry tree painted right on the wall. During February, customers count the cherries on the tree and drop their guess in a jar for a chance to win a cherry gift bag.
The painted cherry tree in our Bellaire store, home of the Share the Cherry Love Wall.
Run a Michigan Cherry Trivia Challenge. In both of our stores, we post a new cherry question near the register each day, and customers who answer correctly get a small cherry surprise. Sample questions: Why are Montmorency cherries so popular for baking? What year was Traverse Bay Farms founded? (2001.) How many national awards has Traverse Bay Farms won? (Ask us in the store.)
Hold a cherry sampling day. Set out dried cherries, cherry salsa or cherry jam and let customers taste.
Give away recipe cards. Print a cherry recipe on a card and hand one out with every purchase.
Turn it into a classroom lesson. Counting cherries works for math, and the 1912 cherry blossom gift works for history.
Host an office cherry bake-off. Coworkers bring cherry desserts, and everyone votes for a winner.
Share it
Post your cherry creations with #NationalCherryMonth and get our free Michigan Cherry Recipe Cookbook for more ideas.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Cherry Month?
National Cherry Month runs all of February, from February 1 through February 28 in 2027.
When is National Cherry Pie Day?
National Cherry Pie Day is February 20, right in the middle of National Cherry Month.
How can a store celebrate National Cherry Month?
Simple, low-cost ideas work best: a cherry guessing jar, a daily cherry trivia question at the register, sampling, and a cherry gift basket for the winner announced at the end of the month.
About the author: Andy LaPointe founded NationalCherryMonth.com and co-founded Traverse Bay Farms, a family-owned Northern Michigan tart cherry company with stores in Elk Rapids and Bellaire, in 2001.
