Northern Michigan: Splendid Food and Wine, Plus Adventures Galore

The Traverse City Food & Wine Festival is one of the nation's top culinary events and Pauline Frommer was there in late August. In this episode, she discusses the foodie celebrities—like Andrew Zimmern and Ruth Reichl—who got deep about their pasts and passions at the event. She also talks what she learned and experienced at dinners and demos; and tells about a visit to a historic former mental institution in Traverse City that was both spooky and quite moving.In the course of the broadcast, Pauline also welcomes 4 guests to discuss specific towns in the region, and the ever-expanding Cherry Capital Airport.First up is Trevor Tkach, President and CEO of the Traverse City Tourism, who talks about the city's surprisingly robust arts scene; its increasingly sophisticated restaurants; and how this spot is protected from extreme weather systems by the Great Lakes.Next, Paul Beachnau, Executive Director at Visit Gaylord talked about some of the top surprises in his region, from the largest herds of elk west of the Mississippi, to fab winter skiing, to golf courses created by the best known names in the biz.Amanda Wilkin, Executive Director at Visit Charlevoix, then discussed her town's unusual Mushroom Houses, its appeal to rock hounds, and its prize winning beauty.Finally Kevin Klein, CEO of the Cherry Capital Airport, spoke about why and how his facility is doubling in size, and what it will soon be like to fly into this splendid part of the country. Please note: today's episode is a sponsored podcast.Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Network, a collection of some of the world’s best travel podcasts. Explore more at Voyascape.com. For advertising or sponsorship opportunities on this show and across the network, email [email protected] or you can find more information at Voyascape.com/advertising.