It's TULIP TIME!!

After what seemed to most to be the longest never ending and brutal winter in our memories, the calendar says spring.   But no one remembered to tell Mother Nature.  It's been cold, in fact our furnace ran earlier this week.  And just when we thought it wouldn't warm up enough for the tulip bulbs to make a showing....voila!  Finally, the temps reached the seventies, just enough to watch the tulips spring forth in time for the festival, like a slow motion video seemingly overnight.

Thousands of people flock to our city to see miles of tulip lined streets.  In fact over six million bulbs are planted each year for visitors to enjoy the following festival.  Hard to image, but those six million bulbs are planted by hand, by city employees and volunteers alike, and that's just the "city" controlled areas.  Great care goes into planting ample amounts of early, mid and late blooming varieties to enjoy regardless when you come.  Many locals also take great pride in their lush gardens preparing right along side the city.

So this is the time when locals are on our best behavior.......being friendly saying "Welkom" (welcome in Dutch) to all the visitors.  It's also a time when locals try to stay clear of town, avoiding all the congestion and traffic.  There are endless parades, food booths, souvenir and shopping opportunities.  And don't forget our wonderful full size authentic dutch imported windmill called "DeZwaan".  And wooden shoes and dutch costumes representing all the different regions in the Netherlands.

But the most important, the star of our show.....is the tulip.  In all her glory, hundreds of varieties, too many to have a favorite.  And here for such a short time.  Here she is......the queen of the festival herself: