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Applications for 2022-2023 National Cherry Festival Cherry Queen Officially Open

You can now apply to become Traverse City’s National Cherry Festival Cherry Queen for 2022-2023.

To be eligible, you must be a young woman between the ages of 19-25 as of July 8, 2022,  a resident of Michigan who can secure one or multiple sponsors and fulfill all eligibility requirements as outlined in the Queen Candidate Application before the May 23.

The National Cherry Queen selection process comes in two phases.

The Queen Candidate Finalist Selection competition will take place Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4. It will consist of three interviews and one speech related to the cherry industry or the Cherry Festival.

Additionally, a one minute video and a personal resume must be turned in on or before May 23. Judging will take place at the Traverse City Country Club.

Each of the top four candidates will be awarded a scholarship of $1,250 payable to the school of her choice and will become the court for reigning 2021-22 National Cherry Queen, Allie Graziano, during the National Cherry Festival.

Each candidate will then be judged secretly throughout the week, and the new National Cherry Queen will be crowned at the Queen’s Coronation on Friday, July 8 at the Northwestern Michigan College Hagerty Center.

The new National Cherry Queen will receive a total scholarship of $8,250, a wardrobe valued at $2,500, as well as a year of memories and travel engagements to promote the cherry industry and the festival.

The first runner-up will receive an additional $500 to her scholarship package.

For more information on becoming the National Cherry Queen, To apply to become the 2022-2023 National Cherry Queen,

The National Cherry Festival will be held in Traverse City on July 2-9.

9&10 News will be livestreaming the Queen’s Coronation on Friday, July 8. You can watch the coronation live on 9&10 News Plus on VUIT.

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