Tulip Time 2022: Everything you need to know about Holland's beloved festival
HOLLAND — Tulip Time is just around the corner and Holland is readying to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to its celebration of the tulip and Holland's Dutch heritage.
When is the tulip festival?
The festival's official dates are May 7-15.
For early birds, a few things start before the first official day: there are several Dutch Dance performances at Centennial Park Thursday, May 5 and Friday, May 6, and the Carnival Midway opens at 5 p.m. Friday, May 6.
The tulips are usually in bloom for a week or two before and after the festival for those looking to avoid crowds.
What does it cost?
There is no admission price for the festival; it is made up of many different events across the Holland community.
Many of Holland's hundreds of thousands of tulips are planted on public streets and parks and can be enjoyed for free. Parades and fireworks are free to attend, too.
Many events are also ticketed, such as entertainment, tours and some of the exhibits. Tickets for official festival events can be purchased at tuliptime.com.
The best places to see tulips
The city of Holland plants hundreds of thousands of tulip bulbs each fall with the help of city parks staff and resident volunteers. You'll see them downtown and planted along six miles of city streets in beautiful Tulip Lanes. Parks with the best tulip viewing are Windmill Island Gardens (admission fee), Window on the Waterfront Park and Centennial Park.
Or drive a few miles north of the city and wander through the massive tulip farm boasting 4 million tulips at Veldheer Tulip Gardens, 12755 Quincy St., and visit the wooden shoe and delftware factory afterwards.
New this year, the festival has brought in internationally renowned Dutch horticulturist, Ibo Gulsen, to design an immersion tulip garden at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds with tulips at eye-level for a unique experience and photo opportunity.
Dutch dancing and parades
Beloved Tulip Time traditions, the festival's parades and Dutch dance performances are some of the best ways to experience what Tulip Time is all about: celebration.
Dutch dance performances in traditional Dutch costume and klompen (wooden shoes) are scheduled throughout the festival at various downtown locations.
Dutch dance is also featured in the parades, some of the can't-miss events of the festival.
Holland's schoolkids are the stars of the show in the Gentex Kinderparade (Children's Parade), Thursday, May 12.
The Quality Car Wash Volksparade (People's Parade) on Saturday, May 14, will be one of the big finales of the festival this year, incorporating the Muziekparade (Music Parade).
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It kicks off at 1 p.m. with the traditional "white glove inspection" by the city's leaders and the declaration by the town crier that the street must be scrubbed clean. After the streets are scrubbed clean by locals in Dutch costume, the parade will begin at 2.
Bring your own blanket or chair and find a spot along the parade route. Or purchase tickets for a better view in the grandstand seats at the Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. Eighth St.
Things to do
The Carnival Midway outside the Holland Civic Center Place is the perfect place to bring a family for fun rides for all ages.
Theme park Nelis' Dutch Village is open for extended hours during Tulip Time, with its classic, old-fashioned rides including a carousel and Dutch windmill-inspired ferris wheel, perfect for younger kids, and step back in time with the park's displays of traditional Dutch cheese making, Delftware ceramics and wooden shoe carving.
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Visit Windmill Island Gardens to tour the only authentic Dutch windmill in the U.S., brought to Holland from the Netherlands in 1964. De Zwaan is a working windmill that produces flour, usually for sale at the park and used at local restaurants (though operations have been paused the past two years).
New this year
New attractions to see this year both feature the work of Dutch artists: the Immersion Garden, designed by horticulturist Ibo Gulsen, at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds, tickets $15-20 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-12; and Zeeuws Meisje (Zeeland Girl), an exhibit of towering 10-foot tall photographs by photographer Rem van den Bosch making its U.S. debut at the Holland Armory, tickets $15-18.
Festival regulars will also notice the Muziekparade and Volksparade have been combined into one parade on Saturday, May 14.
What to eat
Festival fare such as hot dogs, elephant ears and donuts are available at the Carnival Midway and at food vendors around downtown.
For a taste of Dutch cuisine, visit the restaurant at Nelis' Dutch Village or DeBoer's Bakkerij.
Parking, transportation
Public parking is free in Holland and there are several public lots and two public parking decks downtown.
Downtown parking fills up quickly during the festival, but street parking is available throughout the center city unless otherwise indicated and most downtown destinations are within walking distance.
Don't leave your car parked overnight, though — Holland has a local ordinance prohibiting nighttime street parking (between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.)
On Saturdays and Sundays during the festival, a free shuttle to Windmill Island Gardens will be available from the rear of the Freedom Village retirement community.
Tours
Walking tours of Holland are offered daily during the festival. The 1.5-hour tours give ample opportunity to see the tulip displays and visit historic sites and landmarks.
Tours leave every half hour from Window on the Waterfront Park on festival mornings and early afternoons. Thursday, May 12, through Sunday, May 15, tours end early at noon. Tickets are $35.
Shopping
Handcrafted items will be for sale from more than 200 vendors at the Tulip Time Artisan Market, 10-5 p.m. Saturday, May 7, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, May 8, outside Beechwood Church, 895 Ottawa Beach Road.
For general shopping, Holland's Eighth Street is full of boutiques to explore, many open for extended hours during Tulip Time. Saugatuck is a 20-minute drive south and also has a vibrant local boutique and art gallery scene.
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For Dutch imports and authentic Dutch souvenirs, visit newly opened Dutch Village Downtown, 20 E. Eighth St. (former Teerman's department store) and Veldheer Tulip Gardens for hand-carved wooden shoes and hand-painted delftware.
Tulip Time merchandise is available at the Tulip Time office, 42 W. Eighth St., and online at tuliptime.com.
Music and entertainment
Saturday, May 7: Elton Rohn, the premier Elton John tribute show, performs at 8 p.m. at the Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. Eighth St. Tickets are $35.
Sunday, May 8: Organist Rhonda Sider Edgington and trumpet player Jonathan Ruffer perform Dutch music selections spanning 500 years, including traditional, jazz, rock and pop music, at 7 p.m., Hope Church, 77 W. 11th St. Tickets are $15.
Tuesday, May 10: The Holland American Legion Band performs at 7 p.m. at Beechwood Church, 895 Ottawa Beach Rd., Holland. Tickets are $20.
Wednesday, May 11: High school students from four area high schools present Dazzle!, a talent showcase with soloists, show choir and orchestra performances, 8 p.m. at Central Wesleyan Church, 446 W. 40th St. Tickets are $17.
Thursday, May 12: Local favorite the Panning Family Band, Fiddlefire, performs a lively blend of bluegrass, Irish fiddle and and contemporary folk music, 7 p.m. at Central Wesleyan Church, 446 W. 40th St. Tickets are $32.
Friday, May 13: The Texas Tenors, annual favorites best known for appearances on America's Got Talent, cover popular songs and perform original works at 7 p.m. Central Wesleyan Church, 446 W. 40th St. Tickets are $38.
Saturday, May 14: Chase Bryant, a prolific country singer-songwriter with multiple Top 10 hits, performs at 7 p.m. at Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. Eighth St. Tickets are $38-$75.
Saturday, May 14: A fireworks display over Lake Macatawa sends off the festival with a bang. The show starts at dusk and can be viewed from Kollen Park.
More activities
Other events during the Tulip Time festival: The Tulip Time Run 5K kicks things off on the first morning of the festival.
Check out the Quilt Show at Beechwood Church and enter the raffle to win the quilt on display at Apothecary Gift Shop on Eighth Street.
The Holland Garden Club also puts on a Tulip Time Flower Show at Herrick District Library, a few short blocks from Eighth Street, during the festival.
Visit Warehouse 6 to see the artwork submitted by the finalists for the annual Tulip Time Festival poster contest, and help choose the Viewer's Choice award.
Did you know?
The Tulip Time Festival marks 93 years this year. It has only been canceled twice, during World War II and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city of Holland buys all of its tulip bulbs from the Netherlands, ordering about 500,000 bulbs in dozens of varieties from overseas each year.
Community volunteers help plant Window on the Waterfront's tulip beds in the fall. City staff plant the rest of the Tulip Lanes and Windmill Island Gardens tulip fields.
The community is invited to a tulip dig in late spring after the blooms fade. At the tulip dig, hosted by Holland in Bloom, people can take home buckets full of this year's tulip bulbs to be replanted in yards and gardens next fall.
This year's tulip dig is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 at Window on the Waterfront, Windmill Island Gardens and Centennial Park.
— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Tulip Time 2022: Everything you need to know about Holland's beloved festival
