The roots of the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan, reach back to 1846 when 60 Calvinist separatists departed Holland for the New World. Fast-forward to 1927, when Holland High School biology teacher Lida Rogers brought up the idea of celebrating the town's hardy forebearers with a festival. The city council purchased 100,000 tulip bulbs and sold them to Hollanders for a penny apiece. In 1929, the tulips bloomed, and the annual Tulip Time Festival began. Today Tulip Time attracts one million visitors annually to a town of barely more than 35,000.
 The Holland Harbor Lighthouse (Big Red) can be seen from across the Holland channel at Holland State Park. |
Year-round
touchstones of Holland include the restored Victorian downtown and cobblestoned
Dutch Village. Also worth a visit are Holland's Veldheer Tulip Gardens, the De
Zwaan Windmill (a 12-story, 240-year-old import from the Netherlands), Holland
State Park, and "Big Red," the Holland Harbor Lighthouse.
Tulip Time begins
each May with a town crier walking through the city, hollering, "The
streets are dirty, and they must be scrubbed!" whereupon cadres of
costumed scrubbers begin to wash the streets to traditional Dutch standards.
Then there's the Dutch Market, fireworks, Dutch and pop concerts, Klompen dancing -- and
for a historically accurate clean-up, more street scrubbing.
Tulip Time Festival Information
Address: Holland
Civic Center
150 W. 8th St
Holland, MI
Telephone: 616/396-4221, 800/822-2770
Hours of Operation: First
week in May
Admission: Cost
varies
To learn more about family vacation destinations, see:
- Family Vacations: Learn about hundreds of family vacations in destinations all over North America.
- Michigan State Guide: Learn about Mobil Travel Guide-rated hotels and restaurants in Michigan, as well as other recreational activities.
- Scenic Drives: For those who think that getting there is half the fun, we have compiled more than 100 of the most scenic drives throughout the country.
