Canadian Tulip Festival
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| Canadian Tulip Festival | |
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| Tulips from the 2005 Tulip Festival. | |
| Location(s) | National Capital Region (Canada) |
| Years active | 1953–present |
| Date(s) | 3 weekends in May |
| Genre | Horticultural |
| Website | www.tulipfestival.ca |
The Canadian Tulip Festival claims to be the world's largest tulip festival, with attendance of over 500,000 visitors annually.[1] This major cultural event is held annually in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, generally on three weekends in May, concluding with the Victoria Day long weekend.
Although tulips are displayed throughout the city, the most extensive tulip beds are to found on the shores of Dow's Lake, at the south end of the Ottawa section of the Rideau Canal.
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[edit] History
In 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitude for Canadians having sheltered Princess Juliana and her daughters for the preceding three years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, in the Second World War.
The most noteworthy event during their time in Canada was the birth in 1943 of Princess Margriet to Princess Juliana at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The maternity ward was declared to be officially a temporary part of the Netherlands, so that the birth could formally be claimed to have occurred on Dutch territory. In 1946, Juliana sent another 20,500 bulbs requesting that a display be created for the hospital, and promised to send 10,000 more bulbs each year.
[edit] The festival begins
In the years following Queen Juliana's original donation, Ottawa became famous for its tulips and in 1953 the Ottawa Board of Trade and photographer Malak Karsh organized the first "Canadian Tulip Festival". Queen Juliana returned to celebrate the festival in 1967, and Princess Margriet returned in 2002 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the festival.
[edit] Outdoor music concerts
For many years, the festival featured a series of outdoor music concerts in addition to the tulips. The 1972 festival saw Liberace give an opening concert, and at the 1987 festival, Canadian singer Alanis Morissette made her first appearance at the age of 12.[1] The Trews first became widely-known after opening for Big Sugar at the 2003 festival. Montreal's General Rudie also gained valuable exposure early in their career with a performance at the 2000 festival.
After several years of cold and rainy weekends drove the festival to the brink of bankruptcy in 2006, the outdoor music concerts were discontinued. Even though concert admission fees were a source of revenue for the festival, rainy weather contributed to low concert attendance on many occasions, making the concerts a heavy financial risk.
[edit] 2007: Reorganisation
In 2007, the festival was reorganised under new leadership. The festival was redesigned to focus on promoting international friendship, the original symbolic role of the gift of tulips. Park admission charges were eliminated and a new feature called Celebridée: a Celebration of Ideas was introduced. Another component of the 2007 festival was a fund-raising effort in support of War Child Canada.
[edit] Festival sites and themes
| 1994 | A Tribute to the Origin Country of the Tulip - Turkey |
| 1995 | The Friendship That Flowered
50th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland |
| 1996 | Floral Tribute to Nice |
| 1997 | Floral Artistry of Japan |
| 1998 | A Celebration of Canada's Provinces and Territories |
| 1999 | Between Friends |
| 2000 | Tulips 2000: A Capital Celebration! |
| 2001 | Tulips Forever! A Salute to Britain |
| 2002 | Tulipmania! 50th Anniversary |
| 2003 | G’day Australia – Tulips Down Under |
| 2004 | Canada’s Tulip Experience |
| 2005 | A Celebration of Peace and Friendship |
| 2006 | Tulips 2006 – World Flower Rendezvous! |
| 2007 | "CelebrIDÉE A Celebration of Ideas" inaugural year |
Tulip Sites
- Commissioners Park - Dow's Lake
- Garden of the Provinces, Parliament Hill - Capital Infocentre
- Major's Hill Park
Attraction Sites
- Canadian Museum of Nature
- National Gallery of Canada
- Royal Canadian Mint
- Library and Archives Canada
- Canadian War Museum
- Canadian Museum of Civilization
Partner Sites
- Rideau Hall
- Mackenzie King Estate (Gatineau Park)
[edit] Trivia
Because of the ongoing Canadian support for the Netherlands during the war, Seymour Cobley of the Royal Horticultural Society actually donated 83,000 tulips to Canada from 1941–1943, several years before the Royal Family followed suit.[2]
Photographer Malak Karsh became widely known for his photographs of the Tulip Festival.
While the Netherlands continues to send 20,000 bulbs to Canada each year (10,000 from the Royal Family and 10,000 from the Dutch Bulb Growers Association), by 1963 the festival featured more than 2 million, and today sees nearly 3 million tulips purchased from Dutch and Canadian distributors.[3]
[edit] Attractions
[edit] Commissioners Park
Commissioners Park in the Dows Lake area is a major centre of activity for the Tulip Festival. The largest concentration of tulips in the National Capital Region — some 300,000 — can be found planted along a section of the lakeshore.
Commissioners Park also features buskers and musicians, and artists demonstrating their skills. On the final weekend of the festival, a parade of lighted boats is held on the lake, and followed by a fireworks display. In 2007 this event, the Ottawa Flotilla was taken over by a new volunteer committee with the blessing of the Tulip Festival organizers.
[edit] Man With Two Hats
The statue Man with Two Hats stands in Commissioners Park. An explanatory plaque contains the following text:
- During the Second World War, Canadian soldiers played a crucial role in the liberation of the Netherlands. With the donation of this monument - an expression of joy and a celebration of freedom - the Netherlands pays lasting tribute to Canada.
- A statue identical to this one stands in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. The twin monuments symbolically link Canada and the Netherlands; though separated by an ocean, the two countries will forever be close friends.
- Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands unveiled the monument in Ottawa on May 11, 2002, and the other in Apeldoorn on May 2, 2000.
- Artist: Henk Visch
[edit] Major's Hill Park
In addition to tulip beds and buskers, Major's Hill Park features a large tented International Pavilion with culture, food and entertainment from a number of different countries. Crafts and activities for children are offered by some of the international pavilions which are operated by embassies and local community groups.
Varying international exhibits have been featured during many years of the festival's history, but international representation was expanded to 15 countries in 2007.
[edit] Other sites thoughout the National Capital Region
The Garden of the Provinces and Territories, located directly across from Library and Archives Canada on Wellington Street is one of many sites that the National Capital Commission plants with thousands of tulips. Others include Parliament Hill, the banks of the Rideau Canal, and in Gatineau, Jacques Cartier Park, Montcalm-Taché Park, and the Malak flowerbed behind the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Canadian Tulip Festival (2007). "Showcasing Canada's Capital Region". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
