The Mitten State is home to some truly beautiful areas that showcase the most colorful flowers to help usher in sunshine and spring in Michigan.On Michigan’s west side, in Holland, you’ll discover a wondrous festival packed with color, entertainment, and fun.That same year, it was decided to make the Holland tulip festival an annual event, allowing for the revival of customs and traditions from the Netherlands.Over the years, the festival has grown into its current eight-day iteration, which includes fun activities for attendees of all ages.The Holland tulip festival provides entertainment that includes trolley tours, an arts and crafts fair, concerts, parades, a Klompen Dance, Kinderplaats, and even a town crier competition.During the festival, these Dutch dances take place about every 15 minutes and dancers can be easily identified by their customers and wooden shoes.You’ll see plenty of amazing tulip vistas and learn about Holland and its Dutch heritage during the two-mile tour.You can also do a VIP tour, where a costumed guide shows you the sights and you’ve got access to a reception that includes hors-d’oeuvres.Just slightly off the beaten path is Window on the Waterfront along 6th Street in Holland Michigan, which is one of the biggest tulip planting spots that also overlooks Windmill Island Gardens.As you walk through the rainbow of tulips, make sure to check out the grouping that surrounds the Cornelis and Geertje statue.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.Snowdrops, daffodils, hyacinths, pansies, and many other flowers can be found as you are walking Windmill Island Gardens.Pro tip: Get to Windmill Island Gardens early in the day to avoid parking issues and backups at the entrance.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.As you exit, passing through the gift shop, you can also buy perennials and flowers of every kind imaginable from around the world to plant, including Holland tulip bulbs.Tulips will line the downtown streets in single rows and be in large groupings at the corners of intersections.Check out the groupings of tulip displays around the statue of Albertus Van Raalte and at the Dutch fountain in the center of the park.There’s a petting zoo for the kids, a Ferris wheel, and other rides, and you can even get yourself a pair of the wooden shoes the Dutch dancers wear.Authentic costumes and wooden shoes, Dutch architecture, flowering gardens, windmills, canals, and more will greet you in this unique thing to do in Holland Michigan.One of the best things about the tulip festival is that these beautiful flowers aren’t just limited to one park or one street.There are millions of bulbs across town and you can actually see six miles of tulip lanes lining the streets of Holland.Bottom line: if you want to see tulips while you’re bopping around Holland at festival time, you don’t need to go far.If you want a more traditional camping experience during the festival, stay at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds, which has space for tents, RVs, and trailers as well as modern bathroom facilities.The Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Holland offers an on-site destination for breakfast, working spaces, and free Wi-Fi.The CityFlats Hotel also offers modern hospitality needs, including a coffee area and a lounge.There are a number of delicious dining options at local Holland restaurants where you can enjoy a great meal after a day of fun.Boatwerks offers an amazing waterfront view, a nautical atmosphere (the restaurant replicates an old boat building factory), and quality American food.King’s Cove Deli is a great spot to get a specialty pizza or a homemade sandwich, like a tuna melt or a Ruben.Here you’ll find laser tag, bowling, an arcade, escape rooms, and rope courses, among other things.The Tulip Time Festival is a great way to welcome spring, so if you want to see beautiful flowers, have some fun, and rid yourself of cabin fever and the winter blues, make plans to head to West Michigan this spring for this annual tulip festival.
Edward R. Forte
Author