Tulip Festival - A Dutch Experience in USA!

An interesting weekend is the least that I can describe this experience as. I had heard of the Tulip Festivals that take place in Washington and Michigan. A desire to see the tulip gardens drove me to plan a weekend trip to the closest location hosting a tulip festival - Holland, Michigan.

A flight to Chicago and a two-and-half hour drive to Holland, Michigan brought us to our first destination, Windmill Island Gardens. The parking lot was a mile or so away from the gardens. We elected to take the free trailer service to the gardens. It was a fun ride, with just a few lazy people shying away from walking the mile to garden. It turned out to be a lovely day for roaming around in the gardens and chatting up with friends. The garden was lit up with vibrantly colored flowers, tulips being the main attraction of the day. The tulip garden was completely packed with tourists, posing and clicking photos. It was lovely seeing the flowers and relaxing in the warm afternoon sun. But I have got to admit that it was a real challenge trying to capture any pictures of just the tulips without a host of tourists giving an appearance.

The colors & the crowd

After a simple lunch at a local eatery, we headed to our next destination, Nelis' Dutch Village. Although this place was meant for kids, we had some time and decided to check it out. The place lived up to its fame with everything from colorful tulip bulbs to cheerful Klompen dancers, wooden shoe carving demonstrations to a lovely petting zoo. This small place was buzzing with life, and yet was somehow most welcoming and relaxing. The folk dance by the Dutch dancers was one of the best that I have ever seen, and the energy levels were infectious. Any viewer who was interested in dancing along was welcomed. The performance also boasted an antique De Gouden Engel (Amsterdam Street Organ), which is used to entertain people to this day. The village provides some unique learning opportunities in the form of wooden shoe carving and cheese making demonstrations. The quaint little Dutch village does give off an old time feel and the friendly staff made the visit a memorable one.

A Hond Wagen (Dog Cart)