Tulip Time: Holland's continued light after darkness
Residents of Holland know there's plenty to lament here: constant construction, a lack of affordable housing, the loss of national retailers and restaurants. But as the world continues to recover from an unprecedented pandemic, there's much to celebrate, too. That's become clear over the past seven days, as thousands of people have flocked to our streets to see the ever-blooming tulips.
Holland is a beacon for local business, showcased throughout our Eighth Street shops with additions like Out of the Box, Dutch Village Downtown, The Poppy Peach, Bowerman's on Eighth and Laurel and Jack. After a seemingly endless string of franchise closures (Steak 'n Shake, Golden Corral, Denny's, Giordano's, Johnny Carino's), local restauranteurs stepped up to the plate with expansions, renovations and new life. There's a message here, if you stop long enough to see it: We will endure.
When Tulip Time faced potential extinction in 2020, I had some questions. One, in particular, stuck with me: Is our annual celebration really only about the flowers? Anyone can plant them, after all. Businesses like Nelis' Dutch Village and Veldheer Tulip Gardens would surely continue to operate, festival or not, in which case, perhaps it wouldn't matter so much.
But isn't Tulip Time also about the parades, the markets, the wooden shoe carving, the dancers, the tours, the carnival, the entertainment, the food carts? Isn't it also about our Dutch heritage and all that it entails? It was a question I grappled with. What does Tulip Time mean? What would it mean for us, if it stopped?
Tulip Time survived — and this year, my questions were answered. Last Saturday, as I attempted to drive down River Avenue, I was stunned by the sheer volume of visitors, their excitement, their commitment. I watched costumed tour guides with clustered groups, small children gathered around the Wizard of Oz statues by Herrick District Library, and lines wrapped around buildings. People pointed and laughed and shopped and enjoyed.
And that's when it hit me. It's not just about the flowers — it never was. Tulip Time is about Holland and everything this city represents. You can plant tulips anywhere. You can't create this atmosphere anywhere; it's uniquely Holland, uniquely our own.
I didn't know about Tulip Time when my husband and I first visited Holland back in 2017, but I have a photo of my great-grandmother in front of a windmill at Nelis' Dutch Village. My parents told me, after I moved here, that she tried to visit every year. We lost her when I was about four years old, and I don't remember much about her. But when I walk through that village, I swear I can feel her.
Her daughter, my grandmother, died in 2019. She didn't live to see the pandemic; the way the world shifted. She inherited my great-grandmother's love of Holland, and though she doesn't have a gravestone, she has a memorial brick in Centennial Park. I regret I was never able to share a festival with her — that we were ships passing in our adoration of this region and everything it has to offer. It's something we could've shared, something I wish I'd known.
It's those kinds of memories, that kind of love, we get to experience in Holland each year. I've always thought "and we get to live here" sounded rather corny — but it's true, we do. I can't deny on days like this, I feel lucky.
I'll continue to write about areas of improvement, the things we need to do better; that is, after all, my job. But every once in a while, it's a comfort to take a step back, sit down on a warm wooden bench and smell the tulips.
— Community Columnist Cassandra Lybrink is a reporter for The Holland Sentinel. She resides in Holland. Contact her at cassandranlybrink@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Tulip Time: Holland's continued light after darkness
