Holland Tulip Festival – 2018

Holland Tulip Festival – 2018:

​Well, after a brief period of delay, I am dusting myself off, shredding my laziness and now, on the flow. With due respect to the time, I have decided to pen down the long pending travel post – Holland Tulip Festival.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson perfectly said – “The earth laughs in flowers”, Flowers are the real expression of God resonating purity of heart, the beauty of life and the colors of a soul. I have been dreaming of paying a visit to the Holland Tulip Festival since I heard about the fest last year. I made it this year – 2018. And now, don’t give me that scary look, yes the festival happened during the month of May this year but then, it took me 2 months to actually dedicate my time to write down. I have been wading through the tides of life with my own struggles and fighting against the life’s currents. Now, over to the glimpse of the festival.

I needed a little getaway and Tulip Festival during the month of May in Holland, Michigan seemed to be a perfect choice. Holland is 5 hours’ drive away from Burgh and we started by Friday evening to visit the festival during the weekend. The Tulip Fest happens every year in Holland for about a week in mid-May and this year, it was slated for the period May 5 – 13. Let’s revisit the history of the fest before our indulgence into the beauty of flowers. There are a million reasons to celebrate the fest which is happening in the spring of every year since 1929.

There is a history behind the entry of Tulips into the USA and it’s interesting. It’s widely believed that the Netherlands is the trademark for Tulips and produces over three billion bulbs every year. But surprisingly the truth is: – The Turks were cultivating the Tulips ever since 1000 AD from the bulbs in the mountainous region of Central Asia that borders Russia and China. It is even believed now, these beauties were named after it’s resemblance to the turbans worn in the Middle East and in Latin it translates to the word “Tulipa”. The first tulips came to the Holland after the discovery of the town in 1847 by the settler Albertus VanRaalte. The bulbs were then planted and grown in the area’s sandy loam soil. For the beautification of the city, the biological teacher Lida Rodgers suggested to plant the Tulip bulbs around the streets of the city and adopt the flower as its flower due to the close ties of the city with the Netherlands.  Hence, the city purchased around 100,000 bulbs in the year of 1927 and thus, the World’s most celebrated festival of Tulips born in the history.

Each September around 1,000,000 bulbs arrive in Holland and after inspection, planting of the bulbs began in early October and runs through Mid-November. Over 120 varieties of the bulbs are planted every year. 200,000 bulbs are planted by hand, using bulb planters that punch a hole in the soil. The bulb is then dropped in and covered by raking the soil back over the bulb. The tulip lanes along the streets of Downtown are planted using the machine developed by the local company – Holland Transplanter.  And the Holland bursts into bloom with over 5,000,000 tulips every spring.

The Tulip tradition of Holland has been heralded as the nation’s Best Flower Festival and America’s Best Small Town Festival. Festival attracts visitors from the diverse regions spread across the world. And, there are a million reasons to celebrate the festival – Vibrant Downtown with Tulip lanes, Dutch heritage of the town, unique Dutch attractions and town’s unique dance.

How to get around?

The best and the easiest way to find everything the town has to offer is to visit their official website – www.tuliptime.com, check their daily schedules, show details and download their interactive map. I would suggest the best way is to hop on their Orange Express. It’s a free Park-and-ride service that runs every day during the festive period and starts at Neil’s Dutch Village. The bus has hard stops in Downtown Holland and then at Windmill Island Gardens. And what not, you can avoid the traffic crunch and explore the Tulip Time without paying tons of pennies for the parking lot.

We parked our car in the Dutch Village and commuted using the Orange Express to the Windmill Island Gardens after which we strolled around the streets of the Downtown.

What to do?

The festival offers a pack of entertainment for all age groups and never leave you disappointed. The event starts with a Tulip time run.

• Visit Windmill Island Gardens
• Visit Veldheer Farms
• Stroll around the Tulip Lanes of the Downtown
• Visit the local Artists and their art
• Rejoice with your kids in the Carnival
• Learn Dutch culture, history, and heritage in Kinderplaats
• Enjoy Dutch dance performance
• Relish the taste of Holland – Dutch Luncheon

Best places to view Tulips

Windmill Island Gardens

As the name mentions, the Gardens features an authentic windmill – “De Zwaan" (the Swan) brought over from the Netherlands in 1964. Take a tour to the windmill assisted by the costumed guides. The garden features over 100,000 bulbs of tulips including fancy frills.
One will be amazed by the varieties of colorful blooms in the gardens and the organized lanes for each color.

Never forget to visit the miniature of the Netherlands display. Take a tour of the Windmill. Stroll over the Artisan market and learn the culture of Dutch settlers.

I even found antique plates in the gardens and what’s more surprising is their affordable low price. Learn about the cuisine as they cook traditionally using their oven and open-fire.

Visit their gift shop and never forget to purchase a wooden tulip of your choice of color. Do enjoy their skillet-baked cornbread and vegetable soup for lunch.

And don’t ever forget to click pictures of the blooms and carry a glimpse of the beauty with you.

Veldheer Farms

Another must place to visit to view the Tulip gardens in a serene environment. Veldheer farms are the Holland’s only Tulip farm with acres of Tulips from April to late-May. Along with the Tulips, the farm also plants other perennials and imported flowers.

Enjoy over 5 million Tulip bulbs and other seasonal flowers. The farm is worth visiting during the fall season too where one can witness several varieties of lilies.

Purchase top quality bulbs at an affordable price for your own garden. Shop Dutch cookies!

Holland Downtown

I loved the town and couldn’t get over the beauty of this town where Tulips beds are planted throughout the lanes of the Downtown Street till Centennial Park. Walking along the vibrant lanes of colorful blooms was one of the therapeutic and the most enjoyable activity of the festival.

Witness the parade and shake your legs for the Dutch dance performance. No wonder as to why it is called America’s beautiful town festival. I was surprised to hear the history of the downtown and the way the entire town is planned with a futuristic view. The paved roads of the town have an underground heating system which melts the snow during the season of winter on its own without manual intervention and the roads are clear thus paving the way for the Christmas parade by the kids of the residents.

Neil’s Dutch Village

Never forget to visit the Neil’s Dutch Village and learn the heritage and culture of the Dutch settlers. It’s a family-owned theme park where you can go back in time and enjoy Dutch architecture, canals and beautiful gardens.

And do learn few steps of their traditional “Klompen” dance. Enjoy their cheese and check out their handmade candles.

I bet your kids will enjoy the giant Dutch Ferris Wheel!

Enjoy their parade and Dutch dance

Nearly 1000 locals dress in the traditional costume and dances every day throughout the city of Holland. It’s a 10-15 minutes performance and can be witnessed for free.

My Recommendations:

• Reach early to the Neil’s Dutch Village
• Hop on their Orange Express for your commute
• Best places to view Tulips
• Windmill Island Gardens
  • Veldheer Farms
  • Holland Downtown – Centennial Park
• If you would like to avoid crowd, then visit Veldheer Farms to enjoy in a serene and tranquil environment as the first thing in the morning followed by Windmill Island Gardens
• Take tour to the Windmill
• Check out the Artisan market in the Windmill Island Gardens
• Usually, there will be a big queue for the lunch, hence plan your lunch accordingly. I would highly suggest to carry the food with you
• There will be a long queue for the bus. Hence plan accordingly
• Do visit their Kempton Wooden Shoes factory
• Dance performance occur at the defined time. Don’t forget to download the brochure of the Tulip time to check out the schedule for the dance performances
• Neil’s village is opened for extended hours during the festival. Plan your visit to Neil’s village on return
• Carry bottles of water with you
• Be prepared to walk a lot
• And finally, don’t forget to smile for the pictures

 

If you try the recipe (which I highly recommend personally), do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile  here – Facebook, Google, Instagram

Thanks,

Karthi