Up North / Up North Blog

Back in March, we got an email from Jerry VanStrien, a cycle-enthusiast on a mission. Jerry was about to embark on a cross-country bike trip from Kentucky to San Francisco to raise money to battle

After years of renovation due to a devastating fire (no one was injured), on Thursday, June 7, 2018 Cherry Republic of Charlevoix opened its doors for the first time. Here are some photos of the store as Cherry Ambassadors from far and wide prepare it for those summertime Charlevoix visitors. But photos can only do so much justice, stop by and see it for yourself!

It seems fitting to write a blog post about a solar grant project against the backdrop of spring’s
lengthening days. The plants, animals and humans on the farm are harvesting every extra minute of daylight, faces tilted toward the sun.

Our interest in solar energy was ignited by the 70’s “back to the land" movement and reading
Foxfire books. Decades later it was re-ignited by the 90’s “regenerative farming” movement and
reading books by Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin and Wendell Berry. Thus, the mission for

It snowed eight inches again last night. Here we are, halfway through April and Northern Michigan is back to winter wonderland for the second time in 10 days. We’ve had these little windows of spring that allowed us a hike on the beach last weekend. It was a mix of beautiful sandy beach to stretch out on (in our coats) and yet, just 100 yards down the beach four foot ice mounds to climb on. Here are some photos of the family and I enjoying a beach of perfect balance between winter and spring.

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A line of eager Detroit Tigers fans snaked through our Traverse City store and down Front Street yesterday afternoon, hoping for the chance to snap a selfie with soon-to-be Hall of Famer Alan Trammell and pitchers Shane Greene and Daniel Stumpf as the Detroit Tigers Winter Caravan rolled into Northern Michigan. The three players happily served up free samples of cherry pie, ice cream and Sour Cherry Patches for about 30 minutes, while chatting with fans and posing for photos. The spirited event culminated with Jordan Field, Tigers Director of Player Relations, presenting Bob Sutherland with a beautiful framed jersey sporting the name "Cherry Republic" and the number 30 to represent our 30th year in business. Thanks, Tigers, for making the trek up north to meet some of your biggest fans, and GO TIGERS!

Here's a look of

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