I thought this was an interesting article about the area…. cranberries and Warrens….
Wisconsin grows 60% of America's cranberries. I toured the marshes at peak harvest to see how they're really grown and why cranberries don't actually grow in water.
creators.yahoo.com
See ya at CICO
Cranberries play an important part in the economy and lives of the the people in this area. Being from New England, where Ocean Spray got it's start, I never knew cranberries grew anywhere else, let alone Wisconsin, until we moved to Tomah 34 years ago. At that time, Wisconsin was on the fast track to becoming the top producer of cranberries in the world. This was made possible by the fact that Wisconsin had so much available land that was conducive to growing cranberries. That amount of rapid expansion was not possible in the Northeast, as available land was limited.
With the exception of a few years, the dates for the CICO have always coincided with the annual Warrens Cranberry Festival (always the last full weekend in September). We have several Camp-Outt attendees who like to attend Cranfest. The festival is the largest of its kind in the world and the small village of Warrens (pop. ~400) swells to between 150,000 -175,000 people over the 3 day event. There are self-guided cranberry marsh tours, daily entertainment, several different contests, a 2 hour parade, and over 3 miles of vendors (arts & crafts, farmers market, food and flea market). Residents of Warrens literally give up their yards to vendors, as all available space in town is used for the event.
If you are interested in doing a driving tour of the cranberry marshes in the area, as well as info on Cranfest, I always have maps/info available. In addition, info on driving tours of nearby Amish communities and locations of several bike trails are also available. You will find these at the registration table at the Camp-Outt.