Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, annually holds the Canadian Tulip Festival. The celebration commemorates the friendship between Canada and the Netherlands, and it has become one of the country’s most popular and well-known festivals.
But what does the Canadian Tulip Festival mean, and why do Canadians consider it significant? Here’s the story for you to find out. Also, learn how you can participate in this year’s celebration.
A brief history of the Canadian Tulip Festival
During World War II, the Dutch suffered greatly under the reign of the Nazis, resulting in limited food and resources for its people at that time. Canada offered the Dutch to provide refuge to Queen Juliana and her family in 1953.
As a symbol of their gratitude, the Dutch royal family sent the tulip bulbs to Canada in 1944, when Canada sent troops to help liberate the Netherlands, and the Dutch were forever grateful. Since then, tulips become a symbol of the friendship between the two countries.
The tulip bulbs were planted in Ottawa’s Commissioners Park, giving birth to the Canadian Tulip Festival. Today, the festival has grown to become the largest tulip festival in the world, attracting over 600,000 visitors each year.
Celebrating the friendship
The Canadian Tulip Festival is more than just a celebration of flowers; it is a celebration of the friendship between Canada and the Netherlands. With its meaningful symbol of spring, new beginnings, kindness, love, and appreciation, the tulip flower is ideal, not just as a Dutch national flower but as more of a blooming and long-lasting friendship between the two nations.
Canadian Tulip Festival activities and schedule
The Canadian Tulip Festival features various events, including concerts, parades, fireworks, cultural displays, and exhibits from May 10 until May 20, 2024. Visitors can also take part in guided tours of the tulip beds and learn more about the history and symbolism of the festival. Here are the main activities you can participate in or with your loved ones for this year’s celebration:
Tulip Legacy self-guided walking tour
The Tulip Legacy walking tour is a free self-guided tour through Commissioners Park, providing visitors with in-depth historical and horticultural knowledge of the different tulip varieties within the festival. Highlights include the Queen Juliana Gift Bed, the Historic Man with Two Hats statue, and Heritage Canada’s Dutch-Canadian War Brides Display. Each of the seven stops in the park will feature a sign with a QR code to access information about the tulip bed you are visiting.
Tulip Town, presented by Neo Financial
Tulip Town has relocated this year into the heart of the park. Take a break and let the kids let loose in a fenced play area that includes:
- Tulip chalk wall activity
- Giant chess
- Giant checkers
- Group crafts
The Tulip Market
- Open 10 am – 10 pm daily.
A curated selection of Handcrafted tulip merchandise from regional artisans. Pick up official merchandise, fresh-cut bouquets, and potted tulips, too! All proceeds support the Canadian Tulip Legacy.
Movies in the Park
- Children’s Matinees: Free 2 pm daily.
- Family-Friendly Features: Free 7 pm nightly.
Some showings are live workshops and activities. Shows are weather-dependent; updates will be posted.
Blacklight Boardwalk
Free from 8 pm – 10 pm nightly.
Learn about the importance of pollinators in the only blacklit tulip garden in the world. See the flowers in the glowing UV spectrum like the bees and butterflies—experience over 1,000 blooms along the Dows Lake Boardwalk.
“Operation Manna” show
A free 10-minute presentation starting at 9 pm nightly.
Experience “Operation Manna,” one of the Second World War’s most essential and enduring RCAF missions. Located on Dow’s Lake Blacklight Boardwalk. Flashing Lights, fog, and loud noises. Weather permitting.
Explore Ottawa’s greenspace
This year, the Canadian Tulip Festival is expanding! Explore far more than Commissioners Park. Just a short walk away, discover the hidden green gem of Downtown Ottawa. Visit the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum at Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm. Tracing its roots back to 1886, it’s the world’s only working farm in the heart of a capital city!
Experience programs and exhibits on agricultural heritage, food literacy, the future of farming, and so much more – and learn how it can impact Canadians’ everyday lives. And, of course, make sure to stop and say ‘hi’ to all the adorable farm animals.
Celebrate the Canadian Tulip Festival 2024
The Canadian Tulip Festival celebrates the friendship between Canada and the Netherlands, and it has become an essential event on the Canadian calendar. If you want to participate in this year’s celebration, head to Ottawa’s Commissioners Park with your family and friends. Spend a day remembering the history surrounded by the beautiful and colorful tulip blooms.
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