Porch Notes
Five Million Tulips Bloom in One Michigan Town Every May
History and culture
Holland’s famous Dutch windmill is no accident. The Dutch heritage of Holland, Michigan — settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist immigrants — is so strong that the town now plays host to what is officially the longest-running tulip festival in the United States.
It started in 1927, when a Holland High School biology teacher named Lida Rogers stood up at a meeting of the Woman’s Literary Club and pitched an idea: plant tulips. Lots of them. Make them the city’s flower. Honor the Dutch heritage. The city council loved it. In 1928, they ordered 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands and planted them around the city. When the bulbs bloomed the next May, they invited the public — and Tulip Time was born in 1929.
That first festival drew thousands. Today, Tulip Time draws hundreds of thousands. The bulb count has grown to more than five million tulips blooming across parks, gardens, parade routes, and street medians every spring. The festival lasts nine days, kicks off the first Saturday in May, and includes parades, more than 1,400 Klompen Dancers in authentic wooden shoes, street-scrubbing ceremonies (a Dutch tradition meant to prepare the town for visitors), Dutch costumes, and acres upon acres of color. Even Gerald Ford, Michigan’s homegrown president, came to visit.
The festival has been canceled exactly once — in 2020, during the pandemic. Otherwise, every May for nearly a century, Holland blooms.
Where to see it
The Tulip Time Festival runs each year in early May in Holland, Michigan. Festival headquarters and information are at tuliptime.com. Don't miss Windmill Island Gardens, Veldheer Tulip Gardens, and the downtown parade routes.