The Canadian Tulip Festival
Spring Really Blooms Each Year at The Canadian Tulip Festival!
The Canadian Tulip Festival (sometimes called the Ottawa Tulip Festival) has become the world's largest tulip festival and takes place in May each year with more than three million tulips in bloom. It runs for three weeks every spring and this year, Ottawa expects more than 500,000 people will visit to enjoy the flowers and all of the festival activities.
The tulip has become a symbol of the friendship between Holland and Canada. This friendship began more than fifty years ago when the Dutch people gave Ottawa a gift of tulips as a thank you for providing a safe haven to members of the Dutch Royal Family during the Second World War and for the part that Canadian soldiers played in helping to liberate Holland from the Nazis. Read more about the history of this enduring friendship at A Bloom of Friendship.
The gift of tulip bulbs has become a beloved tradition and today, the celebration is bigger and better than ever.
Click here to order this picture of the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa from Amazon.
Canadian Tulip Festival Video - This 2008 video will give you a general idea of what you might expect at the Canadian Tulip Festival.
Canadian Tulip Festival Themes
- 1994 A Tribute to the Origin Country of the Tulip - Turkey
- 1995 The Friendship That Flowered, the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland
- 1996 Floral Tribute to Nice
- 1997 Floral Artistry of Japan
- 1998 A Celebration of Canada's Provinces and Territories
- 1999 Between Friends
- 2000 Tulips 2000: A Capital Celebration!
- 2001 Tulips Forever! A Salute to Britain
- 2002 Tulipmania! 50th Anniversary
- 2003 G'day Australia - Tulips Down Under
- 2004 Canada's Tulip Experience
- 2005 A Celebration of Peace and Friendship
- 2006 Tulips 2006 - World Flower Rendezvous!
- 2007 Celebridée Celebration of Ideas inaugural year
- 2008 Where Ideas Bloom
- 2009 The Tulip Route
- 2010 "Liberation" - The 65th anniversary of the liberation of Europe.
- 2011 "Kaleidoscope" - A celebration of Spring awakening through colour, culture and community
World famous photographer Malak Karsh is widely know for his photographs of the tulips and was instrumental in the establishment of the Canadian tulip festival.
The Canadian Tulip Festival Concerts Helped Create Some Well Known Music Artists
Some of the artists who have performed at the Canadian Tulip Festival concerts include Liberace who performed an opening concert in 1972, Alanis Morissette who made her first appearance when she was just 12 year sold in 1987, The Trews who opened for Big Sugar in 2003 and General Rudie who performed early in their musical careers in 2000. These 'free' concerts were both entertaining and career building for budding new artists. They proved to be great exposure. However, the concerts have been difficult because of the unpredictability of springtime weather in Ottawa.
The music man shown in this picture by azzaelea was part of the fun but obviously not one of the concert performers!
Official Information About The Tulip Festival
- Canadian Tulip Festival 2008 Official Site
Canadian Tulip Festival May 2 to 19, 2008. The largest tulip festival in the world. Millions of tulips will bloom in May of 2008 in Canada's scenic Capital Region creating an exotic mosaic of colour and beauty. - Canadian Tulip Festival - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Canadian Tulip Festival claims to be the world's largest tulip festival, with attendance of over 500,000 visitors annually.[1] This major cultural event is held annually in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, over the course of 18 days in May, concludin - Canadian Tulips Festival - 360 Cities
Explore high resolution panoramic photography of 'Canadian Tulips Festival' on 360 Cities. This will put you in a bed of tulips, literally. I have never seen anything quite like this...and the tulips are magnificent! When you visit, make sure you cho
President Barack Obama's Tulip
During the festival you can see the artist, Jill Alexander at work in the tulips downtown.
The Canadian Tulip Festival presented a very unique gift in the form of a 5 foot tall wooden tulip to President Obama on the occasion of his historic first visit to Canada on February 19, 2009. Large wooden tulips are a beautiful tradition of the festival. This one will represent President's Obama's messages -- Hope, Change, and Yes We Can. It will also have his face in profile and other national U.S. symbols on it. This particular tulip is the work of Canadian artist Jill Alexander.
Frommer's Ottawa - A Good Ottawa Travel Guide
I trust Frommer's for all of my trips so I feel comfortable recommending their Ottawa guide to you, although I have not seen it. This is the fifth edition.
Click here to order your Frommer's travel guide for Ottawa from Amazon.
Have you everseen the tulips at the Canadian Tulip Festival?
More Pages Dedicated to the Tulips & Travel in Canada
- A Bloom Of Friendship by Anne Renaud
This beautiful children's book does a great job of sharing information about the tulip festival. - Red Lobster Ottawa Seafood Restaurant Review
We enjoy our visits to Ottawa's Red Lobster restaurant. Learn more. - Thanksgiving Day in Canada
Thanksgiving Day in Canada is a beautiful children's picture book that was written by Krys Val Lewicki and illustrated by Ana Auml. It tells the story of a family that travels to their Grandparents home for a traditional dinner in Canada. While... - President Barack Obama visited Ottawa, Canada (2009)
In his first official foreign trip after taking office in January 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama was welcomed on to Canadian soil. Learn more here.
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