The Canadian Tulip Festival is returning to Ottawa’s Commissioners Park again this year from May 13-23, with the event set to celebrate its 70th anniversary. More than 300,000 flowers – a legacy of the ‘Gift of Tulips’ from the grateful Netherlands to all Canadians after World War II – will bloom over one kilometer of strolling parkland on the shores of Dow’s Lake in Ottawa.
New nighttime programming for this Platinum Jubilee edition of the festival includes movies every evening and the Dow’s Lake Boardwalk will be transformed into a kilometer-long blacklight garden display allowing guests to see the tulips in a new light, as pollinators see them in UV light.
“As a symbol of hope and renewal since they first bloomed after the Second World War, the tulips will once again provide much-needed colour and joy to a city and country that has been through so much these last few years” says Executive Director. Jo Riding. “We celebrate seven decades this year, honouring the past while looking towards stewardship of the future.”
A unique walking tour entitled “Ghosts in the Glebe” will tell the story of several servicemen who grew up right beside the festival site and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Hauntingly beautiful and set across several important gardens including the Queen Juliana Gift Bed and the Platinum Jubilee Bed, this immersive tour covers over 20 breeds of tulips entwined with truly touching moments from the past.
The parking lot at Dow’s Lake will be closed to the public due to The Ottawa Hospital’s new Civic Campus development. Guests are encouraged to check the website for alternate parking near the park. OC Transpo is available via O-Train and bus stopping at Carling & Preston. “Tulip Trolley” shuttle service will run from Ottawa’s downtown core, with stops at the Westin Ottawa, the National Gallery of Canada, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, and the Lord Elgin Hotel, ending at Commissioner’s Park.
Admission to the festival site is free.
Those who can’t make it in person can go online at www.tulipfestival.ca for programming.