TRAVERSE CITY — The Milk Carton Boat Regatta has returned to the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, drawing participants and long-time attendees. The event, a former festival favorite, brought creative boat designs and nostalgic excitement back to the city.
The regatta’s return this year marks a revival of a popular tradition, engaging both new participants and those who remember the event from years past. Teams crafted unique vessels, including “The Little Cooler” co-captained by Kyle Brede and the “S.S. Fudge” from Murdick’s Fudge.
Brede, co-captain of “The Little Cooler” team, shared his motivation for participating, noting an advertisement on social media for the regatta’s return. “Well, our buddy here sent us the advertisement on Facebook that it was going to be coming back this year. And we’ve never seen it before. So we figured what better use of our time than to build a boat out of milk jugs?” Brede said. He also confirmed his team’s success, stating, “we kind of started planning it for one weekend and did a little bit here, a little bit there. Got it finished and we got the win. That’s what we’re here for.”
Evan Endres, the captain of the Murdick’s Fudge ‘S.S. Fudge’ boat team, recounted the company’s long association with the festival, mentioning a past parade presence. “used to be in the parade many years ago. Doug would always be on a big, like, hey, car. And they would do push fudge on the parade and that was awesome. But we wanted to get engaged in Cherry Festival again, so we decided to make a milk carton boat,” Endres said.
Murdick’s Fudge, a local business that has been in operation for 62 years, constructed their boat from cream jugs and milk cartons collected from their fudge production. Endres explained, “So the yes and Acme on East Bay, Traverse City, we have the iconic landmark store with the fudge box on top. So we took all the milk cartons from all the fudge that we make, all the cream jugs and we made the boat. And then we decided, well, we have the old side that used to be on the old parade float. And then we took the box from the top of the store and thought that’d be an awesome, like, iconic thing for us.”
Long-time National Cherry Festival attendees Ruth Quinn and Jan Weaver expressed their personal connection to the event’s history. Quinn, a fifth-generation Traverse City resident, recalled her grandfather’s grocery store on Front Street, the Sweaters Market, as part of her festival familiarity. She noted that she and Weaver met in 1955 when Weaver moved in next door. Quinn and Weaver welcomed the return of the regatta, with Quinn stating, “Oh, gosh. Yes. That’s why we’re here today. Because we loved watching those.”
The attendees also observed improvements in the construction of the milk carton boats this year compared to previous iterations. Quinn commented, “I see they made beautiful boats where we worked hard and they have quite. Yes, because they always sank years ago. Always fell apart. They were really they didn’t have framework.”
Brede highlighted the unique experience of participating in the festival in Traverse City. He said, “it’s awesome. You just can’t have fun like this like you have in Traverse City. So it was just beautiful to come out here and participate in it.”
The Murdick’s Fudge captain Evan Endres also reflected on the festival’s significance. “It’s awesome. I mean, I’ve always been a kid. I’ve grown up here on a tree festival every year. Doug Murdock’s staple. Always handing out samples on the street. I mean, it’s just really fantastic. I mean, Murdick’s 62 years running, so real community staple. I mean, not a lot of people can say that they’ve been here that long,” Endres said.
Beyond the Milk Carton Boat Regatta, the National Cherry Festival plans to hold bed races, another event that attendees like Quinn are looking forward to. Quinn also mentioned visiting Horizon Books to view memorabilia downstairs as part of their Centennial History Exhibit.
For more events at the 100th National Cherry Festival, click here.