If you are looking to celebrate spring in Michigan and see beautiful blooming flowers, look no further than the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan. We are well aware of how beautiful the cherry blossoms are up here in Northern Michigan, but we wanted to showcase the beautiful flowers surrounding our Holland Cherry Republic location in West Michigan. Be sure to check the Tulip Tracker to stay up to date on how the Tulips are growing as they get ready for the season!
On Michigan’s west side, you will discover a wondrous festival packed with color, entertainment, and fun. Holland is well-known for its Dutch heritage and the Tulip Time Festival, which is an annual event that has been held each May since 1929. The festival is an eight-day experience like none other with over six million tulips blooming throughout the city and area attractions. Tulip Time has been heralded as the nation’s Best Flower Festival, America’s Best Small Town Festival, and even the 2017 -2018 Tulip Festival of the Year! While you are out exploring the beautiful Tulips, stop by our Holland store for some cherry goodies.
Where can I see the tulips in Holland?
Awesome Mitten put together the best places to see tulips in Holland before, during, and after the Tulip Time Festival. Check them out:
Window on the Waterfront: Along 6th Street is one of the biggest tulip planting spots that also overlooks Windmill Island Gardens.
Holland’s Windmill Island Gardens: On the northern edge of town, you will find 36 acres of gardens with over 100,000 tulips planted and surrounded by dikes and canals. As you are walking amongst the thousands of tulips, the famed 250-year-old working Dutch DeZwaan windmill will serve as a backdrop.
It is the last windmill to leave the Netherlands in 1964 and is the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the United States.
Veldheer Tulip Gardens: A few miles north of downtown off US-31, Veldheer Tulip Gardens is the only tulip farm perennial garden in town. It has been open since 1929, with over five million beautiful tulips planted each year. Expansive fields with hundreds of varieties of tulips await.
You’ll pass under windmills, over a drawbridge, along canals, and maybe even run into a cherry blossom tree or two, as you enjoy the many acres of tulips.
Downtown Holland: You don’t have to walk through gardens and large parks to get up close and personal with the tulips. Tulips will line the downtown streets in single rows and be in large groupings at the corners of intersections. We may be biased, but you may even see the brightest and best tulips right outside the Holland Cherry Republic store.
Other Tulip Time Festival Activities
Klompen Dance: Klompen dancers perform a traditional Dutch dance in traditional Dutch costumes. Each Dutch costume is handmade and carefully inspected before it can be worn.
During the festival, these Dutch dances take place about every 15 minutes and dancers can be easily identified by their customers and wooden shoes.
Tulip Time Parades: One of the most popular tulip activities is watching the parades. There are two different parades that take place: the kinderparade and the volksparade.
Tulip Time Festival Carnival: The Tulip Time Festival carnival is also worth a visit. Year in and year out, visitors flock to the carnival for its food, attractions, and rides. This is the perfect way to spend an evening with family, zipping, whipping, whirling, and zooming around.
Tulip Time Run: Experience the beauty of Holland as you run through the tulip-lined streets! The Tulip Time Run offers an event for everyone — a 5K, 10K and Kids’ Fun Run.
How long does Tulip Time last?
Tulip Time officially lasts for eight days each year, but tulips can generally be seen and enjoyed throughout Holland for several weeks before and after the festival, depending on that year’s weather. The officially 2023 Tulip Time dates are May 6-14.
