Canadian Tulip Festival

I had proudly recommended this festival to a talented group of dancers visiting from Mexico. The young women volunteers saved our sanity (thanks Heather and Jeanette) from the disastrously organized event.
After 3 months of emails and being ensured we would have a 30ft x 30ft stage (covered preferably) we arrived to a 5×10 ft uneven riser that looked like it was fit for a scrap yard.
Nearby there was a ‘wedding tent’ that sat underutilized for the entire event until we insisted that it would be perfect for the Dancers. Then there was no sound system — so after then being relocated no less than THREE times to three different stages, we finally had a space to dance.
Something has to change if Ottawans hope to continue to attract excellent groups for future Tulip festivals — this year the poor volunteers had to endure disorganization that was beyond belief.

So I’m not sure what it was about this year but the Tulip festival was way more epic last year with the amount of flowers they had going on at Major Hills onwards. I’m comparing this years to last years tulip festival I guess…
They had other events that were scattered around and those were ok but something seemed missing. The kick off ceremony was in a small cramped place in between Sidedoor and Planet Coffee. Most other times this would be an awesome place to kick off anything else but a festival? It was very difficult to fit people in there.
I’ve seen more things happen in the past. It was cool that they had it across multiple sites this year. I’m not sure if that happened in the past.
I hope they go all out again next year and do it better than this year!

I don’t really know if I fully understand this Tulip Festival, but it sure seemed like it was a big deal to everyone in Ottawa (btw, what is the term for a person from Ottawa? Ottawan?)
Anyway, the entire city and surrounding areas get into the whole tulip thing, and everywhere that can possibly be filled with a tulip, well, it is. Lots of great photo-​ops, until the festival is over. At that point, all tulips are unceremoniously removed from planter-​boxes and gardens everywhere, not to be seen again until next May. That part kind of confused me.
Many festivities seemed to be centered near the Rideau Canal at Dow’s Lake, but if you walk/​bike/​drive along the Canal at all, you can’t help but notice tulips everywhere. Apparently, it’s the biggest tulip festival in the world, so that’s cool. (I haven’t ever seen a competing tulip festival, though, if there are any — but this one seems hard to beat!)

You know, I really like the Tulip Festival! And as a person with allergies, that says a lot. I try to go every year, even though I’ve been many times.
It’s free, it’s pretty, and it happens once a year. Every year in May, the city lights up with tulips of so many different colors. It’s very bright and vibrant, and nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. The main tulip site is Commissioner’s Park, where you can see some beautiful tulips and take absolutely gorgeous photos — a dream for tourists, photographers, and any one that wants to go see and do something different. They say that there are about 300,000 tulips at this particular site, so there’s bound to be some great picture-​taking moments.
You can also find festival events at Major’s Hill Park, where there are activities for children and the whole family, live entertainment, some food stands, and other kiosks.
The only downside is that after awhile, you get kind of tired of looking at flowers. As nice as they are, it’s not exactly like they’re a roller-​coaster ride of fun. The festival events help with entertainment, though teens, youth, and adults with no children may not be as excited as those with families.

Ottawa is very lucky to have three really great free festivals falling in different seasons — Winterlude in of course winter, Canada Day in the summer and Tulip Festival in the spring.
Like skating on the Rideau Canal, this is one event that you get asked about by people when you travel and tell them you’ve been to or live in Ottawa. It’s known around the world and for good reason.
You can enjoy the Tulip Festival without paying a dime. There are tulip gardens at Major’s Hill Park, Confederation Park, the War Memorial, Parliament HIll, Garden of the Provinces, all along the Rideau Canal and at various other local sites.
Dow’s Lake is the hub for the various tulips. You’ll see various types of tulips that you probably have never seen before. The War Memorial fittingly has black tulips (they look more like very deep dark purple) surrounding it.
The festival runs usually for three weekends in a row in the spring. Be warned though that traffic can be nuts around Dow’s Lake during this time. Most years they have shuttles and if you’re staying in a hotel ask the front desk about shuttle options to the sites.
I’ve mostly avoided the paid entertainment events they have which seem to be quite overpriced. The festival nearly folded a few years ago because of funding issues so I don’t blame them for trying to rake in more green.
Also, if we have an early or late spring you may miss the best blooming which is what happened in 2010!
Do NOT forget your camera.