For years, Melinda Hollands has had a “love-hate” relationship with the National Cherry Festival.

She loves that this long-running festival brings joy to countless thousands of people every year across dozens of events and attractions. But she’s always been bothered by what she’s forced to miss as the popular festival unfolds around her.

Hollands, of Traverse City, is blind. She hears the rolling laughter and the constant din of the carnival rides. She can smell the elephant ears and those salty Gibby’s fries. But she can’t see any of it. The lights, the colors, the spectacle – all lost.

“It’s so fun and exciting, but it’s also overwhelming and exhausting, and it can be so frustrating to be at an event and know that I’m missing a lot of what’s happening,” she tells The Ticker. “And I'm with friends or family that are trying to fill me in, but it's hard to be describing stuff to me and talking to their friends and doing what they need to be doing.”

That’s why Hollands, a social worker who runs a group for visually impaired people in town, is beyond thrilled that a professional audio describer will be at the DTE Energy Foundation Cherry Royale Parade on Saturday. This person – local resident Polly O’Shea – will be on site vividly describing the parade entries as they go by in real time.

“This opportunity to have a professional describe what's happening in the parade is just so wonderful,” Hollands says. “I'm so proud of Traverse City and the Cherry Festival for being open to having Polly do this here…now (visually impaired people) can be there live, part of the energy and excitement and milieu, and still get good information about what’s going on.”

O’Shea is trained in audio description and has done this work for museums, galleries, home media (TV shows and movies), live events and more. Though the process varies considerably depending on the item being described and how much time there is to describe it, the idea is to give blind or visually impaired people a clear, detailed picture of what they’d see if they were able to look at the item being described.

“The golden rule with audio description, whether that be parade or TV and film or live performance or something, is to just say what you see,” O’Shea tells The Ticker. “You don't want to interpret anything you're looking at or provide any sort of conclusions – you're just saying what's right there in front of you; translating what you’re looking at into words that people can process.”

A live event means time is limited for each description, and O’Shea is doing her best to research floats and other entries ahead of time. She’ll have to use her judgement about what elements of each entry to describe, with a focus on the unexpected or particularly interesting details.  It’s the first time she’s done a parade, but she’s ready.

“I have a mentor out in Los Angeles who has described the Tournament of Roses Parade, and she’s been so very helpful about telling me everything she does as far as prep goes and other things to be aware of,” O’Shea says.

O’Shea had a career in public service in which she frequently interacted with people who have disabilities. She has a passion for broadening opportunities for those who struggle to do the things the rest of us take for granted.

“This creates a more accessible world, which is something I’m all about,” she says. “I think everything should be accessible all the time, but it’s just not that way. This at least chips away at that mission.”

She’s also keenly aware the difference that her work is making for people with vision loss, and she’s “honored” to provide it for the Cherry Royale parade.

“There's definitely an emotional aspect to vision loss, especially later in life when you're used to doing and enjoying so many things, and I think people sometimes think that they age out of the arts (or events) when they can't see as well as they used to,” she says. “This is something that allows people to continue doing what they love.”

For its part, the festival is proud to have O’Shea do her thing at the parade.

“For those who are differently abled, whatever it may be, we want them to be able to enjoy the festival,” Executive Director Kat Paye tells The Ticker. “Whether that’s with our interpreters for the deaf (at the Bayside Music Stage) or now having audio description for the visually impaired, we are continually trying to make a path for everyone to be able to enjoy some part of the festival.”

Those interested in participating can meet at the tent on the northeast corner of State and Union streets at 11 a.m. Saturday. Headsets receiving O’Shea’s descriptions will be available, though they have limited range. O’Shea and the festival hope to broadcast the description in future years.