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00:00Hey guys, Meltdown here. Once again, the summertime is coming up and the National Cherry Fest
00:04up in Traverse City is happening. And I'm happy to be joined once again by the National Cherry
00:09Queen, Ainsley. How are you doing, Ainsley? So good. Great to see you. And Kat, thanks for coming
00:14in again. Absolutely. Thank you for having us. The Executive Director. And Ainsley, first of all,
00:19congratulations on the gig. Of course, we get new National Cherry Queens coming in every single
00:25year. So tell me about your rise to prominence. You know, it's crazy to think how fast time has
00:31gone by. But you know what they say, if you're having fun, then it goes by fast. But I've had
00:35a great time, you know, traveling throughout Michigan. In December, I was in California. And
00:40just being Cherry Queen, I feel like it's just such a little girl's dream come true for me. So
00:45it's been amazing. And you're actually a Traverse City native. I am. Yeah, born and raised. So it's
00:54never going as a little girl, getting a belly full of cherries, eating too much cherry pie.
00:58And so, you know, now being a representative and helping with the festival, it's been amazing.
01:03So how many times have you watched a cherry pie video?
01:07A cherry pie video? No, the cherry pie video. The cherry pie video. Oh my goodness. You know,
01:13I don't even, I don't even know if I have a lot. Never mind, Kat. So.
01:16I was saying. The cherry pie video. Oh my mom.
01:20Anyways, there was a band back in the stone age called Warrants. And they had a song. It
01:24was their biggest hit called Cherry Pie. Oh. And there was a hot rock star model named
01:29Bobby Brown in the video. And she's my cherry pie. Anyways, Kat, on you. Tell us about the
01:36entertainment this year. We have a lot going on at Pepsi Bayside music stage. So as you know,
01:41we always have a very eclectic lineup, eight nights of entertainment, and we've got some really
01:46big shows this year and we're excited to have them. So tell me about some of the shows you have
01:50confirmed so far because there's some that aren't yet. Yeah. Yes. As we were just talking about. So
01:55Daughtry is one that we're very excited that we just announced yesterday. Tickets will go on sale
01:59this Friday for that. We've got Soulja Boy and Bow Wow coming. We've got Chase Matthews and Lauren
02:06Elena and then Justin Moore and then the fray. So we've got quite the lineup so far. Five nights have
02:11been announced and three more to go. By the way, you're going to find this shocking,
02:15but I watched Justin Moore last year in a guy's backyard here in Metro Detroit. Interesting. And it
02:22was awesome. He came to the National Cherry Festival about 15 years ago. We were honored to
02:27have him then. And so we're excited to welcome him back now. No, I mean, I'm a rocker through
02:31and through, but I am a Justin Moore fan. And there was about 200 people. We'll tell you about
02:34that later. I like that. But Ainsley, getting back to you. So what's the first thing you're going to do
02:38here when you leave the station today? You know what? Probably eat some cherries. I was going to say,
02:45the first thing. Okay. So, you know, I do know this song. Like, I'm so sorry to everyone listening.
02:49Like, I'm not trying. Like, she is my cherry pie. Yes, I do follow along. But yeah, you know,
02:54maybe watch that. Eat some chocolate-covered cherries. Oh, chocolate-covered cherries. Yeah.
02:59That's my favorite right there. You know I'm just giving you a hard time. You know what? I love it.
03:03No, that's great. So how long is your title going? I should know the answer to this question.
03:08So it is a full year that I get to wear this crown. Right. But when does it end?
03:12It ends on July 10th. Okay. So the new cherry queen will be crowned this year. Is that how this
03:18works?
03:19Yes. Okay. Yeah. So I was crowned last year on the 4th of July, actually. And then this year
03:23is going to be, as the queens say, like, this will be my year for the festival. And then I'll
03:29have a court
03:30that is selected. So it will be four women. And then they'll come to Cherry Festival. They'll be
03:36secretly judged. And then one of those four women will get this beautiful crown. That's awesome. So
03:41what do you do besides the cherry queen? Like, what were you doing before that? So I am a student,
03:48first and foremost. So I'm in college. I actually used the $10,000 scholarship from the cherry queen
03:53program to help assist me. So I am doing pre-med. And I'm actually a golfer. That's my big little
03:59fun
03:59fact. So I'm a merchant golfer at Adrian College. Oh, no kidding. So you go to Adrian right down
04:04here? Yep. Wow. Yeah. One of my friends was the hockey coach down there. And that's a cool school.
04:10It is. So what have you been doing all winter long that you can't golf? So actually, you know,
04:15you think with the snow, we have indoor sims. Right. So I've been golfing in the sim. And we
04:20actually just came back from our spring break. So I was in the Carolinas for our first tournament.
04:24So you got to, you know, stay sharp. Yeah, no doubt. Yeah. So what is your, like,
04:29your handicap or whatever? Are you sure you want to know it? Yeah. Okay. It's plus six.
04:34Okay. Very good. Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, Alice Cooper is a great golfer. Do you know who that is?
04:40He was this rocker back in the seventies, grew up here in Detroit. And he became a huge rock star.
04:47And he's also a golfer. Love to hear it. What happened to him was he was hooked on drugs and
04:52alcohol. And then he decided to get off them. And besides now he just golfs all the time.
04:56Mm-hmm. It's a fun sport to get. I mean, we have so many beautiful courses doing Michigan. So
05:01how many think you've played here in Michigan? Oh, geez. Maybe like 25. Okay. I mean,
05:07I've been golfing since I was a little girl. I had my hot little pink golf clubs. And even though
05:12I
05:12couldn't whack the ball, I was really trying. Who are your favorite golfers? I would have to say
05:15the Corda sisters. Okay. And have you ever seen Caddyshack? I have seen Caddyshack. Okay.
05:21Okay. I have to explain that one to you too. So what did you think of that movie? Is that
05:25your
05:25favorite golf? What's your favorite golf movie? I would have to say Happy Gilmore. Oh yeah. I
05:29would have to say the first one though. The second one was good. You know, it was a revamp. It
05:33was
05:33fun to, you know, see the PGA versus live in there, but I'd have to say the first one. Yeah,
05:38of course. It's sometimes it's hard, you know, obviously to, to create the magic on the second
05:41one, right? It is. Yep. Uh, but yeah, that was good. Um, I thought that was, yeah, it was actually,
05:46you know, pretty decent both of them. I, I enjoyed both of them. So, so Kat, what else are we
05:50plugging here today?
05:50What else is going on up there? I mean, you guys do this every year and every year I tell
05:53you,
05:53I got to get up there with my wife and stuff and every year it just kind of comes and
05:56goes and I
05:56get busy and stuff, but I made to make the trek as usual up there again. Well, we would love
06:00to
06:00have you. It is a, you know, it's a magical time. 150 events over the eight days. We've got the
06:06air
06:06show opening weekend with the F-16 Viper team. We've got the two parades Thursday night and Saturday
06:11morning, which are just incredible rolling storybooks of our community. Beautiful, uh, beautiful works of
06:17art. It's great. It's amazing to see those kids put together these beautiful floats
06:20for every single elementary school we have in the area. It's about 30 of them.
06:23They're lovely when they go down the parade route. We have the races, 5k, 10k, 15k. You could run a
06:28half marathon in the orchards. That's always a good time. And then, uh, you know, the concerts and the
06:35other amazing events, the bed races, the milk carton boat regattas, the sandcastle competitions,
06:41the pit spit, the pie eating. We've got it all. It's spit. We do. That goes on three different
06:47times during the week. And we have rules and a mat that is out about 80 feet.
06:52Wow. That's pretty impressive. So this is really, is this really the biggest event in Traverse City
06:57throughout the year? It's gotta be, right? We like to say it is. I think it draws in the most
07:01people. We are not gated though. We are a non-gated festival. So it is hard to tell
07:05how many people come because someone might come in and just buy a cherry pie flurry at their lunch
07:11hour and go back to work. Right. Or they might stay for the entire day or the week. And either
07:15way, we absolutely love it and want to make sure that our favorite fruit is highlighted in as many
07:20places as possible. And Ainsley, uh, uh, what has been the, uh, the peak so far that the coolest
07:25thing you've done besides this interview right here and your reign as national cherry queen,
07:29you know, it's all been pretty amazing. I will have to say probably going all the way out to
07:33California. I never thought, you know, being born and raised in Traverse city, I'm kind of used to
07:37that small town feel and to know that our industry is being, you know, brought all the way to
07:43California. That was really cool. And then to see tournament of roses be at the Rose bowl. That was
07:49an unlike experience for me. Um, yeah. So you were in Pasadena. I was in Pasadena. Oh, that's right.
07:54I think I saw, I may have seen pictures on the Facebook. That is cool. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. It did
07:58unfortunately rain. So I was in my pond show on parade day. It was still gorgeous though. We were
08:04a little bit damp for the actual, you know, game itself for the whole day for the whole day. Yeah.
08:09I was trying to make it nicer, but yeah, it was the whole day we were drenched. Who'd you go
08:13out there
08:13with? So I actually went out with Kat and then we went out with my Queens photographer, Gary Caberly,
08:19and then the a hundredth national cherry festival president Kelly. So, and she's a past queen. So
08:25it was really exciting to, you know, talk with her about her reign and just see, you know, our past
08:31Queens, they don't just stop when the title and the crown's off them. They continue to give and give
08:36into the festival. Now you're, you're obviously a lot younger than me and young will over here is a
08:41lot younger than me too. And I brought up one of my friends to, to will the other day, and
08:45he had no
08:46idea who he was, but, uh, I'm friends and can text John Daly. Oh yeah. You know, John Daly is.
08:52Okay.
08:52Yeah. That one I do. Okay. See, now you got to explain to will who that is. See, well, he
08:57was a
08:57legendary golfer, but yeah, I got you on that one. Yeah. He still is. So, well, Ainsley and Kat,
09:04thank you guys so much for coming in. Uh, it sounds like it's gonna be a great time and, uh,
09:08and let us
09:08know what, when, and if you can make this final announcement or, you know, the, whatever announcements
09:12you have left and we'll pass along to everybody else. Okay. We will do so. Thank you so much.
09:16Thank you. I appreciate it.
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