(Above) Shops ready for Christmas in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Photos by Pamela Dittmer McKuen except where noted otherwise. Click on images to view larger versions.

By Pamela Dittmer McKuen

Oct. 28, 2025 – An ambitious Chicago pastry chef returns to her Door County hometown for Christmas, rekindles an old romance, and must decide between her big-city career dreams and saving her family’s struggling cherry orchard.

Does that sound like the plot for a heartwarming holiday movie? Well, it is.

A Wisconsin Christmas Pie, filmed entirely in Door County early last spring, is running on the Great American Family cable television network, and streaming under the alternate title A Cherry Pie Christmas. The family-friendly indie film, starring television veterans Katie Leclerc and Ryan Carnes, was written and directed by John Stimpson of H9 Films. Wisconsin native Staci Griesbach is a producer and songwriter.

(Left) Leclerc and Carnes in a scene filmed at Tannenbaum Holiday Shop in Sister Bay. Photo provided by Cherry Pie Films LLC.

Door County, Wisconsin, is dotted with small, charming towns backdropped with lighthouses and woodlands. Just the setting you want for a holiday rom-com, adorned with snowflakes and twinkling lights.

Watch the movie, then book a holiday getaway to Door County to see the sights and sites you may recognize from the film. Just like in the movie, the streets and villages appear magical in winter. Here’s a guide to what you should look for:

Returning for its fifth season, Door County Christkindlmarkt (right) is a traditional European-style holiday market spiced with live music and delicious eats. Photo by Tom Sadler

It runs for three weekends at Corner of the Past Museum, a pioneer village in Sister Bay.

Local artisans and gourmet food purveyors set up shop in 16 historic buildings and a couple of big tents that blanket the grounds. The village’s centerpiece, the 1875 Anderson House, is decorated in the holiday style of the era. A retinue of Santa’s helpers is on hand to sell baked goods, ornaments, stocking stuffers, and toys.

Warm yourself around a firepit, perhaps with a beverage of glühwein or hot chocolate in a souvenir mug. You might see Christkind, an angel-like creature in white robes and feathered wings, the bearer of Christmas gifts to children, according to German lore.

The dates for the 2025 Door County Christkindlmarkt are November 28-30, December 5-7, and December 12-14.

Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek is one of five state parks and 19 county parks weaving through the county.

The park is anchored by the 60-foot Eagle Tower (left) that sits on a bluff and overlooks vast Green Bay – the bay, not the Packers’ home city. Reach the observation deck via 100 stair steps or stroll the gently sloping, accessible 850-foot ramp. Photo by Dan Eggert

The tower is closed during the winter months for safety reasons, but there is still plenty of outdoor fun: Sledding, cross country skiing and snowshoeing, hiking, snowmobiling, and photographing the stunning landscape.

Door County Trolley operates a fleet of crimson trolley cars providing narrated tours throughout the county. Tours are themed by interest and season. Popular in winter is the Wine, Spirits and Brew Tour that includes lunch and dessert. The 29-passenger trolleys are enclosed and heated for year-round comfort.

Catch your ride at the Door County Trolley Station, built to resemble an old-timey train depot, in Egg Harbor. Photo by Mike Tittel

Hillside Waterfront Hotel is a luxury boutique hotel overlooking the gentle waters of Eagle Harbor in Ephraim. An iconic Door County landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel has been welcoming guests since 1901. Five elegantly decorated, adults-only suites are appointed with fireplaces and sitting areas, private baths, fine linens, and garden or water views. Two waterfront cottages are designed for family or friend groups.

(Left) Ephraim in February. Photo by Dan Eggert.

Tannenbaum Holiday Shop in Sister Bay is a year-round gift and collectibles boutique housed in a former Lutheran church that was built in 1879.

Anderson Dock is a collection of historic buildings along the waterfront in Ephraim. For decades, sailors and visitors have painted their names on the barn-red warehouse at the end of the pier. Since the early 1960s, the warehouse has been occupied by the Hardy Gallery, an arts and education center fostering local art and artists.

Cherries play a starring role in the film, as well they should. (Hint: A cherry pie-baking contest is involved.) Farmers in the late 1800s discovered the area’s shallow, rocky soil and cool spring temperatures were ideal for growing cherries, particularly the tart Montmorency variety. Today, with 2,500 orchard acres, Door County is the fifth-largest cherry producer in the United States.

The Lautenbach family has been cultivating cherries and much more since 1955. Get your cherry fix at Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery and Market in Fish Creek, an artisanal food emporium with a bakery, market, and tasting room stocked with goods from estate-grown fruit. Start your gift list: Cherry pie, dried cherries, cherry jam, cherry syrup, cherry pie filling, cherry mustard, cherry salsa, cherry barbecue sauce. Lautenbach’s also purveys more than 40 wines and ciders, including dry and sweet cherry wine.

In Door County, you’ll find more ways to drink your cherries. A couple of standouts are Apple Cherry Cider at Island Orchard Cider in Ellison Bay, and Cherry Brandy at Door County Distillery in Sturgeon Bay.

Along with your cherry pastries, you need a great cup of Java. Door County Coffee and Tea Company, a family-owned artisan small-batch coffee roaster in Carlsville, is a beloved community gathering spot. Along with 100 different types of coffee, some seasonal, the restaurant serves creative classic fare for breakfast and lunch. Door County Cherry Salad with dried cherries and housemade cherry vinaigrette, perhaps? Check out the gift boutique stocked with homespun wares and gourmet delights.

Two more coffee-centric shops to try: The 5th and Jefferson Coffee House in Sturgeon Bay takes over a vintage home with a decor as eclectic as its menus. Buttercups Coffee in Egg Harbor promotes more than 50 flavors for your preferred coffee drink.

Fish boils are a culinary tradition in Door County, started in the late 1800s when Scandinavian immigrants found an economical way to feed large groups of workers.

It’s a medley of locally caught whitefish and red potatoes boiled in a cauldron over an outdoor fire. Photo by Jon Jarosh/Door County Visitor Bureau

The process has been fancied up over the decades to make it a performance, with diners gathered around a firepit to watch the boil master at work and listen to his tales. When the ingredients are perfectly cooked, he tosses a splash of kerosene onto the flames, causing a fiery spectacle. The pot boils over, and the unwanted fish oils that have risen to the top spill out. It’s time to eat.

Several restaurants offer fish boils, but White Gull Inn (left) in Fish Creek has been at it the longest, since 1959.

White Gull Inn is a historic bed and breakfast inn and restaurant in Fish Creek. Opened in 1896, the inn has grown to nine suites, two cottages, and two single-family homes. All are decorated with the allure of yesteryear and the amenities of modern day. Many of the guestrooms have fireplaces and whirlpools. Breakfast at the restaurant is included.

The restaurant, spectacularly decorated for Christmas, is open to the public. A fish boil is offered on Friday nights during the winter and more often the rest of the year. After the inferno dies down, you’ll retreat to the handsome dining room where your plate of whitefish and potatoes is served with lemon, melted butter, coleslaw, and homemade breads. For dessert? Cherry pie, of course.

For breakfast at White Gull Inn, order the Cherry Stuffed French Toast. ABC’s Good Morning America declared it the winner of its Best Breakfast Challenge.

Just one more way to have a cherry, merry holiday.