Blog

If Christmas is our favorite holiday at Cherry Republic, Earth Day is a close second. Because as much as we love brightening peoples' spirits with ruby red morsels of joy, we also love caring for our planet. In fact one of our Core Values is "LIFE: We value and appreciate Northern Michigan and cherries." That's why we've given more than $2 million to mostly environmental and farmland nonprofits since our inception in 1989. Some of our favorite organizations have included the Leelanau Conserva ...

To us locals, spring in northern Michigan is all about the conflict between the sun and the north wind. This age old battle plays out on the dunes and orchards and woods and water. And then every year, to us warm-blooded human's delight, the sun wins! Spring is especially nice. The crowds are thin and and even the best restaurants have a table available. The sun returns to warm the earth, giving way to leafing trees, vibrant wild flowers, and lively wildlife; ideal conditions for a long hike ...

Above is a favorite angle of the Crystal River at the Dunns Farm Rd culvert. Here is a second view of the Dunns Farm culvert looking straight up the Crystal River.  If you have never paddled the Crystal in the winter, this mild winter would be a great year to do it. Can you see the duck in flight at the far side of the Crystal.  If the river freezes over, the ducks all head to Lake Michigan. The plows were out in mass.  We had a two hour school delay, which is almost as ...

What should citizens do on Leaf Day? Dress up? Give gifts? Hide Baskets? Make a big dinner? Those are all too much work. How about do nothing. How about a purposeless day? A day to just reflect on the beauty of nature? Leaf Day was created by Cherry Republic to celebrate the amazing colors of fall, and to take a day to reflect or enjoy the outdoors in the last of our good weather.  We are all so busy all summer and into fall that we don’t often find time to just enjoy the outdoors.  Leaf Day w ...

An update on the progress from some of our staff Mary working the cash register in the Glen Arbor store I only work for a few hours each weekend, but people kept telling me how much they appreciated reading Bobby's Blog.  They really felt connected to the storm through his writing. Customers also wanted to know how to help and donate to the Bring the "Arbor" Back to Glen Arbor fundraiser. One woman said "That is so like Bob to do such a nice thing". Mary - Cherry Ambassador and “The Momma” ...

A Queen Anne cherry tree outside of Cherry Republic. Within 25 miles of Cherry Republic’s headquarters in Glen Arbor is the greatest cherry growing region in the world with nearly 2 million cherry trees resting on our beautiful hillsides overlooking Lake Michigan. How do all those cherries get grown and harvested and then made into the 190 scrumptious Cherry Republic products? It takes a dab of luck, a good share of expertise, and lots and lots of hard work. Before Cherry Republic can do ...

For the second year in a row, frigid temperatures over Lake Michigan have left it nearly 60% frozen. Those cold temperatures coupled with the strong winds we've had over the past month are the perfect ingredients for the formation of ice caves. There were ice caves on Lake Michigan last year, but none had formed so far this year. Until last week, that is. Eric LaPaugh, owner of Leelanau Adventures, shot some footage from inside an ice cave near Glen Arbor and shared it with us. Inspired b ...

The wild winter this year has brought frigid temperatures, mountains of snow, and large waves to the Republic. We can now add ice caves to that list! The spectacular formations on Lake Michigan have been caused by the way the lake has frozen this year: a mixture of sudden freezing caused by historic low temperatures, a gradual pileup of pack ice, and wave action adding freezing spray to the equation. The results are stunning: cavernous caves, precipitous cliffs, and an ice pack stretching ...

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The Lutheran Church surprised everyone in town by decorating their big beautiful spruce with well orchestrated blue lights.  Hawthorn, my 4 year old, even glowed over it.  There is the entryway to Bear Paw Pizza. Here is a view of Art's Tavern.  It takes them three days to decorate up for for the Holidays.  Christmas in Glen Arbor wouldn't be the same without them.   Here is a view from under the cherry tree over to the Christmas tree in our store.  The tree sure illuminates the window and f ...