The Canadian Tulip Festival celebrates its platinum anniversary

What: Canadian Tulip Festival
When: May 13 – 23, 2022
Where: Commissioners Park
Cost: Free

After going virtual for two years in response to the pandemic, the beloved Canadian Tulip Festival returns in-person this year.

The ten-day festival kicks off on Friday, May 13th, and promises to be bigger and better than ever as it celebrates its 70th anniversary and how far it has become since its inception in 1953. Originally a celebration of the historical friendship between Canada and the Netherlands, the festival has become a multicultural celebration of springtime and the beauty of the tulip flower.

The festival takes place at Commissioners Park, on the shores of the beautiful Dow’s Lake, and will feature over one million bloomed tulips to admire, food trucks, live entertainment, outdoor movie screenings, fireworks, and much more. An exciting new addition to this year's festival is the “Blacklight Boardwalk.” This experience promises to make you see the tulips in a “whole new light” and is described as “Pollinators, like bees and butterflies, see the world through the ultraviolet spectrum. The Blacklight on the Boardwalk display will give guests a fun, educational experience of seeing the tulips just as a pollinator would!”

Even though the festival is in-person again, digital content like photos, live streams, and videos will be available via the Canadian Tulip Festival website and social media channels if you want to experience the fun that way.

As always, admission to the festival is free, open to all ages, and accessible.

Visit the Canadian Tulip Festival website for a full schedule of activities and more.

Photo: Kat Walcott