Traverse City, Mich. – April 17, 2017 – Thousands of exhibitors and spectators will travel to Traverse City, Michigan, this summer for the third installment of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF). Those flying in to Traverse City should take advantage of the Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), located just minutes from downtown, surrounding hotels and the Flintfields Horse Park.
The Cherry Capital Airport is an all-weather facility and is the fourth largest commercial airport in the state of Michigan. During the summer months, the airport offers an increase in direct traffic from Chicago, Detroit, Newark and LaGuardia for those coming from the East. In addition, international travelers can conveniently connect through the Atlanta airport and fly directly to Traverse City. For West Coast travelers, there are direct flights available in major hubs such as Denver and Minneapolis.
This year, Cherry Capital Airport officials are also pleased to announce that American Airlines will offer daily, direct in-bound and out-bound services between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas and TVC beginning June 2. Cherry Capital Airport officials and American Airlines are committed to working together to provide a simpler and more convenient travel experience for customers coming from the Southwest region of the United States to the Traverse City community.
The summer service from DFW to TVC and TVC to DFW represents approximately 12,000 additional seats on the market. Beginning June 2, the direct flight will depart DFW at 10:50 a.m. and arrive into TVC at 2:40 p.m., while the aircraft will return to DFW from TVC each day at 3:35 p.m. and arrive into DFW at 5:30 p.m. Envoy will operate services between DFW and TVC with an ERJ-175 aircraft complete with Wi-Fi.
“We at TVC continue to fulfill a true northern Michigan experience; one that is clearly pure Michigan. We are eager to continue to work with our northern Michigan partners including Traverse City Tourism, our chamber of commerce as well as airlines alike to attract additional services. This opportunity was supported through the Small Community Air Service Development Program by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). This grant is valued at $750,000 from the USDOT and $305,000 from our local community partners,” stated Kevin Klein, TVC airport director.
For the 2017 show season, the festival will feature six consecutive weeks of world-class hunter and jumper competition from July 5–Aug. 13. With weekly derby competitions, the 2017 GLEF will also feature World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) week (Week Two), and a $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby during Week Four. Weeks Two–Six will be FEI-rated competitions, featuring CSI2* and CSI3* grand prix events, concluding with the highly anticipated $100,000 Grand Traverse Grand Prix CSI3* on Sunday, Aug. 13.
New to this year’s schedule are “Equitation Tuesday” competitions, held each Tuesday Weeks Two–Three and Weeks Five–Six in the Grand Prix Ring. This provides GLEF equitation exhibitors ample opportunities to collect double the amount of valuable qualifying points per week in one location!
The team at Morrissey Management Group and the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival are dedicated to providing top-notch customer service for those attending this year’s event. With its convenient location in the heart of Traverse City, traveling through the Cherry Capital Airport is the ideal situation for those participating at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival this summer.
Visit tvcairport.com to learn more and to book your travel to Traverse City, Michigan, today! Download the app for up-to-date flight information by searching “TVC” in your app store!
