Celebrating Tulips Around the World

Surviving the gray skies of winter is easier when you look ahead to the coming colors of spring—and all of those gorgeous tulips. While Keukenhof in the Netherlands remains the motherland of all tulips with its 25-mile flower-filled road trip, tulip bicycle tours, and tulip cruises, it’s not the only place to see these happy flowers. These five tulip festivals around the world also celebrate the multichromatic splendor of spring’s happiest flower.

Tulip Time Festival – Holland, Michigan

Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan Photo: Shutterstock

If you don’t have time to travel across the pond to the original Holland, head to Holland, Michigan. Located on the scenic shores of Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan, Holland enjoys a rich Dutch heritage and knows how to celebrate it. The city’s annual Tulip Time Festival showcases five million tulips.

Holland’s relationship with tulips began in 1928 when the mayor purchased 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands. The bulbs were planted in city parks and were available for Holland residents to purchase at one cent each. When the tulips bloomed the following year, the tulip festival was born.

Today the festival brings much more than flowers to springtime. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Dutch Dance. To celebrate, Tulip Time includes traditional Dutch Dance performances, Dutch Dance Lessons, a Dutch lunch and style show, and, new this year, De Familiedans (the family dance), a Dutch Dance experience designed specifically for parents and children from baby to early elementary age. The 2025 festival runs from May 2 through May 11. For more information on all Tulip Time offers, visit www.tuliptime.com.

Tulip Festival – Albany, New York

Tulips at the Empire State Plaza Photo: Courtesy of I Love NY

Henry Hudson first claimed the area now known as Albany for the Dutch in 1609, giving the city a long Dutch heritage. On July 1, 1948, Mayor Erastus Corning II passed a city ordinance declaring the tulip as Albany’s official flower. He also sent a request to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to name a variety as Albany’s tulip. She chose the Orange Wonder—an 18-inch tall orange tulip with a scarlet hue toward its center.

Albany’s connection to the Netherlands and tulips is celebrated each spring in Washington Park with the annual Tulip Festival. It begins with a ceremonial sweeping of the streets as a nod to days when women in Holland scrubbed their stoops and streets to prepare for festivals. The sweeping is done by local high school seniors dressed in traditional Dutch costumes.

More than 140,000 tulips in 15 different varieties bloom across the park’s 81 acres. The festival also features local artisans selling handmade crafts, a fine arts show, live entertainment and a KidZone for families. The 2025 festival will be held May 10-11.

Canadian Tulip Festival – Ottawa, Canada

Tulips in Ottawa Photo: Pixabay

Ottawa gave refuge to the Royal Dutch family during World War II. During that time, Princess Margriet was born in the Ottawa Civic Hospital. Canada temporarily declared the maternity ward extraterritorial to ensure the princess would have full Dutch citizenship. The Dutch showed their gratitude to Ottawa with a gift of Dutch tulips, and the legacy of the Canadian Tulip Festival was created to celebrate this international friendship.

Millions of tulips blanket the city for this colorful festival in celebration of culture, history, and art. Experience urban tulip art creations and sample tulip-inspired cuisine while taking in the entertainment throughout the festival’s five venues. The 2025 Canadian Tulip Festival runs May 9-19.

Kashmir Tulip Festival – Srinagar, Kashmir

Garden of Tulips in Kashmir Photo: Shutterstock

Nestled in the foothills of the Zabarwan hills along the bank of Dal Lake, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden blooms each spring with more than 1.5 million multi-colored tulips. The tulips are accompanied by hyacinths, daffodils, and ranunculus throughout the stunning terraced garden. The only event of its kind in Asia, the Kashmir Tulip Festival began in 2007 to promote tourism through floriculture in the Kashmir Valley and continues to grow in popularity each year.

In addition to the feast of colors for the eyes, the festival includes local folk dances, artisans, and the traditional cuisine of the region. Dates for this year run from March 15 through April 20.

Tesselaar Tulip Festival – Silvan, Australia

Tesselaar Tulip Festival Photo: Shutterstock

On their wedding day in 1939, Cees and Johanna Tesselaar sailed away from their beloved Holland on one of the last ships to leave Europe before the outbreak of World War II. In their luggage was a piece of their homeland—tulip bulbs. They settled outside of Melbourne, Australia, after learning it was the best place to go to grow the flowers.

The colorful fields of exotic flowers attracted motorists who would stop and even climb the fence to admire the tulips. The flowers became so popular the Tesselaar family officially opened their farm to the public in 1954 for a month-long tulip festival. Today, their grandson, Paul Tesselaar, continues the tulip-growing tradition.

This year, the Tesselaar Tulip Festival runs from September 13th to October 12th with various themed activities, including a food, wine, and jazz weekend where you can eat, drink, and be merry among the brilliant, flowered fields. There’s also an Irish weekend with bagpipes and dancing and children’s weeks with family-focused activities.

Perhaps 2025 is the year we all need to tiptoe through the tulips!

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