Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Holland, Michigan, Tulip Time Festival

Street Scrubbers, Tulip Time, Holland, Michigan
Photo by C.H. Geerlings

"It's Tulip Time in Holland Every Year in May"

postmarked in 1954 with a 2 cent John Adams stamp

the sender writes:
Dear Mother - You'd be quite at home here with your broom, cleaning up.
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Dutch Village
The Dutch Village, in Holland, Michigan, features the history, culture and architecture of "Old Holland" with Klompen dancers, wooden shoe carving, historical displays, and much more!

Photos by John Penrod

unused, from 2011

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Each May Holland hosts an annual Tulip Time Festival. Tulip planting and the festival began in 1928 when 100,000 tulips were imported from Holland and planted for the event. Currently six million tulips are used throughout the city.  It is normally held the second week of May, right when the numerous tulips planted around the town are blooming.  Activities at the celebration include three parades, one of which is the street scrubbing parade which officially opens the festival, fireworks, a Dutch Market, various shows and concerts, a craft fair, and klompen dancing.

About one million tourists visit Tulip Time each year. It has been ranked as America's third largest town festival and was named Reader's Digest's best small town festival. The Tulip Time Festival has attracted big name acts in recent years such as: Christina Aguilera in 2000, O-Town in 2001,  and Jars of Clay in 2006. 

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