It's Tulip Festival Time!

…courtesy the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the destination events for the Pacific Northwest, held from April 1 through 30, celebrating millions of tulips bursting into bloom.

As with all things governed by Mother Nature, the tulips bloom according to their own schedule sometime during the festival. This year, Mother Nature seems to be cooperating and there should be some tulips in bloom by April 1, with waves of later blooms coming in the weeks to follow. You can check the current state of bloom here: Bloom - Tulip Festival.

The festival is designed as a driving tour as there is no one “site” to enter. The fields of tulips are scattered throughout the Skagit Valley as are the many events and activities that comprise the festival. The tulip fields are the crops of RoozenGaarde/Washington Bulb Co. and Tulip Town. Due to crop rotation, the fields are in different locations each year.

Both RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town also have displays of tulips in gardens for visitors to view and photograph. Festival organizers offer a couple of helpful maps: Map - Tulip Festival & www.tulips.com/bloommap. For information about the display gardens and gift shops, click here.

The tulips allow us to share our corner of the world and showcase Skagit Valley agriculture. Typically, the tulips lure people from all 50 states and from more than 85 countries.

Another resource is the festival Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SkagitValleyTulipFestival).