The Canadian Tulip Festival
The Canadian Tulip Festival is held annually each May in Ottawa. The festival claims to be the world's largest tulip festival, displaying over one million tulips, with over 650,000 visitors attending annually. Large displays of tulips are planted throughout the city, the largest of which are in Commissioner’s Park on the shores of Dow’s Lake.
History
In 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitude for Canadians having sheltered the future Queen Juliana and her family for the preceding three years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. While in exile in Canada, Princess Juliana gave birth to her third daughter, Princess Magriet. Part of the Ottawa Civic Hospital was declared Dutch soil at the baby’s birth, to allow the new princess to hold Dutch citizenship exclusively.
Upon returning to the Netherlands, Princess Juliana sought to thank Ottawa and the Canadian people with several gifts, including the 100 000 tulip bulbs. Since then, the Dutch royal family has sent tulip bulbs to Canada’s capital each year. 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.
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.
Themes
For a dozen years between 1994 and 2006, the Canadian Tulip Festival celebrated countries all across the world, who have also adopted the Tulip as a symbol of international friendship. And since 1994, there has been a theme for the festival each year.
1994: A Tribute to the Origin Country of the Tulip - Turkey
1995: The Friendship That Flowered - 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands
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
2008: Where Ideas Bloom
2009: The Tulip Route
2010: "Liberation" - The 65th anniversary of the liberation of Europe
2011: "Kaleidoscope" - A celebration of Spring awakening through colour, culture and community
2012: The Festival celebrates its 60th anniversary with “60 years of Tulip Friendship”.
2013: “Cirque de Liberation”
2014: “Floral Extravaganza”
2015: “Tulip Liberation” celebrates the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Holland through colour, culture and community!
2016: "Urban Tulip" - at Aberdeen Pavilion
2017: “One Tulip – One Canada” The Festival's 65th edition takes place during Canada's 150th
2018: "A World of Tulips"
2019: Canadian Tulip Festival; ReRooted
2020: Canadian Tulip Festival; Liberation75 (Held Online during CoVid19)
2021: Canadian Tulip Festival; Liberation 75+1 and Rembrandt & Dutch Masters
