TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Parade-goers who went to the “Consumers Energy Community Royale Parade” in Traverse City on Thursday, July 6th got their fill of political and social statements from the parade participants as they marched down the streets of downtown during the week of the city’s 97th annual Cherry Festival.
A parade participant with the Peace Corps Volunteers of Northern Michigan was seen waving the Chinese flag, the local Presbyterian church had the pride flag on their banner as well as an individual holding a sign that said “Active Advocates for Racial Justice,” and another pulling a wagon with a sign that said “Indigenous Solidarity.”
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Others along the parade route were seen waving pride flags in support of the LGBTQ+ movement. At the bigger parade on Saturday called the “DTE Energy Foundation Cherry Royal Parade,” elected officials walked down the street in the parade including Democrats Attorney General Dana Nessel, Congresswoman and Michigan Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing), Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) as well as Republican local and state-elected officials.
Political candidates who are not yet elected to office were also seen walking the sidewalks behind the parade-goers as well as a group of Christians who show up to hand out literature every year and are often preaching about the end of the world.
What was missing from the parade was the pro-life group, Grand Traverse Area Right to Life’s (GTARTL) Teens for Life group, who had secured a spot in the parade as a walking unit weeks ago – but had their permission to be in the parade revoked around 11 pm the night before the parade. They had been preparing to march with the catholic high school’s marching band from Traverse City St. Francis.
The GTARTL July 6th Facebook post said, “We were denied our access into the Cherry Festival parade very late last night, after being confirmed as a walking unit several weeks ago.”
Emily Hollabaugh, Director of Grand Traverse Area Right to Life, said, “We are appalled that our next generation is being denied the chance to join their town in the annual Cherry Festival Parade, all in the name of intimidation and harassment and now a supposed clerical error. Our students look forward to peacefully walking with their community just as every other group who was approved gets the right to do so. We are proud of our students for being willing to outwardly march for life and we will continue to support them.”
Right to Life Michigan said, “These kids worked hard and made big plans for the parade with entertainment and custom t-shirts.”
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Media reports have given several reasons for the Right to Life parade participants being scratched from the event as well as an official statement about the incident coming from the festival organizer. National Cherry Festival Executive Director Kat Paye said removing the walking unit was about the rules and that the entry never should have been allowed in the parade to begin with. She said in a statement, “Grand Traverse Area Right to Life will not be marching in today’s Community Royale Parade. Due to a clerical error and oversight, the Grand Traverse Area Right to Life application was mistakenly approved; however it has been denied. Our rules prevent us from allowing groups promoting social, political, or controversial issues from marching in our parade. We are not endorsing nor condoning the organization or their objectives; we are simply following our own policy and rules. We apologize for the misunderstanding and inconvenience, and hope everyone will still continue to join us in our community celebration of the National Cherry Festival.”
The rules on the website say, “Any Entries sponsored by advocating for or depicting any political organization or controversial issue, social issue are NOT permitted. The goal and purpose of the parades are specific and un-flexible. Only seated official representatives elected by the people are permitted in the parade and are by invitation only. NO CAMPAIGNING IS ALLOWED.”
Even though Paye cited the parade rules for the reason the group wasn’t allowed to participate, the Traverse City Ticker says that the GTARTL has participated in previous parades over the years dating back to 2016. A search on the GTARTL Facebook page shows photos of them in the parade under their own organization and also as a part of other groups including the Down Syndrome Association of Northwest Michigan.
Paye said to The Ticker about the group participating in past parades, “To the best of my knowledge the Grand Traverse Area Right to Life has not filled out a Parade application in the last 5 years.” However, in addition to the group participating with other organizations, Paye leaves out the fact that the Cherry Festival had no parade during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. In fact, they didn’t even have a Cherry Festival at all in 2020.
It was only this year that the parade organizers decide to follow their own rules in order to keep the group out of the parade. Pressure came upon them this year due to what was reported as personal threats against the parade organizer. There were also folks like community member Karen Roofe who called up the Cherry Festival to complain about the GTARTL entry and about the parade rules not being upheld. Roofe has several partisan posts on her personal Facebook page that include support for Democrat candidates and trying to secure volunteers for Up North Pride, an organization that says they are a “collective of 2SLGBTQIA+ humans and allies looking to build a more inclusive and welcoming Northern Michigan.”
There used to be three parades during Cherry Festival week: the larger Cherry Festival Royale Parade on Saturday at the end of the week which is still in existence, the Heritage Parade and the Junior Royale Parade. The two smaller parades which occurred on weekdays were combined into one parade in 2022 and renamed the Community Royale Parade. The Junior Royale Parade had been the kids parade and the Heritage Parade was a celebration of the community’s cherries, agricultural and community’s history.
The Cherry Festival parades have featured many interesting participants over the years including Grand Marshal and President Gerald Ford in 1975 and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses in 1953. The festival has also had other smaller parades including a dog parade and something called a Mummers parade. It was at a Mummers parade where the city had its most controversial parade incident in Cherry Festival history.
The Mummers parade is a parade held each year on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia where people wear elaborate costumes and participate in performance routines as they rowdily strut down the main streets in what’s called the “oldest continuous folk parade in the country.” It is often compared to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. Apparently, the Traverse City Cherry Festival had their own version of the Mummers parade – at least for a little while.
According to the Agile Writer website, which documents the history of the Cherry Festival, in 1967 “The ‘King of the Mummers’ was riding on the Cherry Festival Queen’s float in a crown and full-length mink coat, sitting on a toilet while smoking a cigar and occasionally pulling up his coat to expose his rear end.”
The website concludes, “That stunt put an end to any Mummers parades in Traverse City.”
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