Tulip Time is Here!

Hello Festival-goers!

I’m sure you all are just as excited as we are that Tulip Time has finally arrived! If you are looking for something fun to do on this lovely Sunday please feel free to come on down to the Art and Craft Fair in Centennial Park. The first day of the fair was yesterday and we had great sunny weather and a fabulous turnout! There are around 230 vendors in the park this year and all of the products they are selling are wonderful and guests are loving them! Dutch Dancers and Kinder Dutch Dancers will also be performing periodically throughout the day in and around the park. The Art and Craft Fair will run from 11am to 5pm so be sure to stop on by to enjoy the nice weather, a tasty treat, live entertainment and to pick up some new and unique items!

Extra, Extra Read All About It: Everyone Joins The Dance

Tulip Time Festival wants everyone to ‘Join the Dance,’ which means all generations.  Group Sales and Marketing manager Susan Zalnis and I were recently interviewed by Lisa Ermak from the Holland Sentinel regarding adding new events to the festival for younger generations and we made the front page!

Susan spoke about work the program committee did to limit the skew of the Festival programs after the 2012 Festival favoring older generations and creating new events in the Festival line up for other generations in 2013. An event like Kevin Kammeraad’s new “Move to the Muziek” is show for children of all ages. It includes high energy dancing and daffy disco for the whole family.  Other events like the Ambrose T-shirt printing workshop and Second City Improvisational comedy show at the Knickerbocker we hope will draw in the young adult crowd.

I was able to give my perspective, as a member of the younger generation.  I explained how exciting it is that Tulip Time is working to create a festival for all generations. There is nothing more rewarding then bringing an entire community together to celebrate our Dutch heritage and culture. I am especially looking forward to the evening shows like Chris Linn, FiddleFire, and The Second City at the Knickerbocker. I hope to enjoy some of these events with a group of friends and have dinner at City Vu beforehand. Getting my generation involved and enthusiastic about the Festival is important; we are the future of the festival and hopefully will carry its tradition on for many, many, more years.

To read our article in the Holland Sentinel follow this link:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1959361351/Tulip-Time-tweaks-events-to-appeal-to-younger-crowds

Tulip Time behind the scenes with Executive Director Gwen Auwerda

In Holland Michigan it has rained for the past 13 days and the tulips love it.  The town is being spruced up from a long winter and the Tulip Time Festival staff and interns are busy with the finishing touches on all the great events, entertainment and parades.  Here is a behind the scenes look at the Festival.

500 dozen pigs-in-the blanket,  a traditional Dutch food, were made by a group of volunteers from First United Methodist Church.  “Pigs” as we call them are a sausage roll covered with pastry dough and served to thousands of visitors at Dutch Marketplaats lunch in our Civic Center.  This is quite a time-honored tradition for the church.

Members from First United Methodist Church who make the Pigs-in-a-blanket every year.

Thirty bands are practicing their marching skills and will be marching in the Saturday GMB Muziekparade,  the longest parade in Michigan at 2.4 miles. The Columbia Central High School Golden Eagle Marching Band from Brooklyn, Michigan is anticipating its 69th year marching in the Tulip Time Festival GMB Muziekparade! Starting in 1941, this band has traveled nearly 300 miles round trip each year to participate in the Tulip Time Festival parades. Some of the group’s favorite memories of the Festival include the inconsistent weather conditions our lovely Lake Michigan provides each year, the thrill of the crowds’ response to the band’s performances and the seemingly timeless experience the Festival provides.  This year, May 11th is the day of the  GMB Muziekparade, but also another important day in the lives of CCHS students: it’s Prom night! This important celebration of high school is not deterring the band from making its appearance at Tulip Time. Director Joe Folts, lends this dedication to tradition and loyalty. “Kids wouldn’t think of not going to the Festival, it’s not a question, it’s a treasured tradition.” Some band members are second generation marchers making participating even more important and special for the Golden Eagles.

Dutch Dancing is another signature event during the Festival.  The dancers typically learn the dance in high school and can continue dancing as an “alumni dancer” after graduation.  This year, we have over 900 dancers who wear clothing representing the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Practices begin in January and the dancers spend 30 hours over the next 4 months learning the dance.  This event is a visitor favorite and free!

We couldn’t put together an internationally known flower festival without our beloved volunteers.  It takes over 800 volunteers over an 8 day period to help with trash pickup, ushering at the shows, set-up, deliver potted tulips to the venues around the city, assist with the Tulip Time run, Queen’s Day Bike Criterium and the three parades.   It is because of the dedication of these volunteers that our city can invite over 500,000 guests to Join the Dance!  We hope to see you in beautiful Holland for the 84^th Tulip Time Festival.

Almost Here!

The Festival is right around the corner and all of us at Tulip Time are extremely excited to see it all come together. As of right now, there are 16 spots available to participate in the Art and Craft Fair so if you were thinking about applying but feared it was too late, there is still time! We are expecting to get a good amount of applications coming in to the office within the next few days so if you would like to apply, I would recommend sending your application in as soon as possible. There are some great products that are being sold at the Art and Craft Fair this year and it will be a great two day event for festival-goers to come check out on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th!

The planning for Dutch Marktplaats is also coming along well. We have a few new vendors who are planning to participate this year and it will be exciting to see some new products/services from them. They will be a great addition to Marktplaats! Currently, I am in the process of ordering the necessary items that will transform the Holland Civic Center into a fun Dutch atmosphere.

I’m very excited for both of these events to take place and I know they will turn out great! I hope to see all of you at the Art and Craft Fair and Dutch Marktplaats at some point during the Festival!

I hope you all are looking forward to Tulip Time this year! See you soon!

Customer Interactions & Planning Process

We’re only about 3 weeks away from the Tulip Time Festival and it has been crazy busy over here! For my event, Kinderplaats, the planning is coming along very well and we are headed for the final stages of planning. It seems like we keep getting more and more organizations that would love to be a part of Kinderplaats which is amazing. The Tulip Time office is always full of people wanting to buy our new merchandise for this year’s Festival! I’ve gotten a lot of wonderful feedback from customers about the new poster, mugs, T-shirts and everything else. We are still getting a lot of calls about tickets, but hurry up and buy yours because they’re selling out fast!

I am also getting a lot of calls about the tulips and if there will be tulips this year. Don’t worry, the tulips are looking like they will be right on time this year – hopefully the weather stays on track for us!

Looking forward to meeting all of you that I’ve been speaking with on the phone during the Festival!

Updates and a Call from Texas

Happy April! Spring is just around the corner and the tulips are looking great! Things are in full swing at the Festival office this week as we enter the final planning stages. We could not be more excited as the Festival approaches and guests begin to arrive.

Over the past few weeks I have been focused on parades, Tulip City Tours and the Queen’s Day Criterium. For the parades this year, we have been pleasantly overwhelmed with the number of applicants. We are proud to announce that our special performing band for the 84th Festival will be the Petoskey Steel Drum Band. Bringing the sounds of the islands to the Festival once again, this band will perform in the GMB Muziekparade on Saturday, May 11 at 2pm and again at the Bier Tuin later that afternoon. If you are looking for a unique and rhythmic music experience, you won’t want to miss this!

Our Tulip City Tours are getting a face-lift this year. We are excited to add a “hop-on, hop-off” option to our tours featuring attractions such as the Windmill Island Gardens, Queen’s Market, the Cappon and Settler’s House, and the Holland Museum. Same day tickets will be available for purchase at Centennial Park starting on our opening weekend on Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th from 11am to 6pm.

April 28th is a big day for the Festival as we host our first annual Queen’s Day Criterium. This fast-paced cycling race requires planning fast paced planning. The Queen’s Day Crit will take place in Downtown Holland on April 28th beginning at 9am. This event is sure to be a crowd pleaser and a great way to enjoy the outdoors. If you are a local business owner consider participating in our fat bike Business Relay. Each team has four members and each member completes a lap of the mile-long course. The first place winner gains bragging rights for the year as well as the coveted bedazzled wooden shoes! For more information go to www.tuliptime.com/bike to register and gain more information about this unique opportunity.

While the planning pace quickens, the phone calls seem to triple. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with a guest who called from Texas. He called to share a piece of treasure in the 1939 Glenn Miller song “In An Old Dutch Garden”. The song tells the story of a young Dutch man who travels one summer to the old Dutch mill to find “heaven in a pair of wooden shoes”. He falls in love however, in the Fall, he must leave. The song ends with the young man pining for his love and desire to see her again.

Delighted to gain this little treasure, “In An Old Dutch Garden,” rang through the halls of the Tulip Time office for the rest of the day. Below is the link for you to listen and enjoy! More to come on all things Tulip Time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMoeK_Q-u_8

A Green Festival & A Healthy Festival

Tulips, Tulips, Tulips!!!
If you haven’t started to think spring, then you better start now! We are in full-fledged planning mode for the Festival. We are getting lots of great phone calls, we have our 2013 merchandise readily available and the tulips are still nestled away — just as they should be.

It is such a great feeling to be a part of, not only the Tulip Time Festival, but a “green” festival and a healthy festival. There are great events that are health conscious and promote healthy living styles. The environment and one’s own health are very important and a Festival that can incorporate both is even better!

I am working towards the end of my semester which is a great feeling. I’ve started another new project for my senior capstone class- it’s called, “Greening Tulip Time”. The green initiative has taken most everyone by storm in the past few years. Tulip Time already does a lot of recycling and continues to think of ways where waste can be reduced and where more energy can be saved. This is a crucial aspect for all non-profits; Tulip Time is ahead of the game and my project will progress them even further in the greening initiative. Currently, Tulip Time recycles all paper, cardboard and even past brochures! This makes a huge difference throughout the entire year.

The week of the Festival, Chef Container provides all of the garbage cans and actually sorts through each one of them to make sure they recycle as many items as possible! We certainly appreciate what Chef Container does for us and I’m sure the environment does, too.

Tulip Time has already had a carbon assessment completed. This assessment allows the Festival to see where they are in terms of being green. It also allows us to see where improvements can be made and that is where my “Greening Tulip Time” project will come into play! A zero-waste Festival proposal will be included in my project in the hopes that Tulip Time can head in that direction. I know this doesn’t even sound possible, but it certainly is and some major events have started doing this already.

Not only are we a green festival and soon to be greener, but health conscious, as well!
This year for the Tulip Time Run, Edify North is again hosting the Corporate Leadership Challenge. This challenge is directed towards business owners, leaders, CEOs, Partners, Executives, Presidents and Vice Presidents. Many of our workplaces have started to incorporate health and wellness programs. This is your chance to compete with other leaders for your businesses’s name! This is such a fun challenge and many perks come along with it. The winning CLC participant will have their name engraved on the perpetual trophy, will get a tech t-shirt, and will have access to the VIP tent prior to the run (which will have a complimentary gift basket for the runners, an “energy buffet,” and will also have a gear check station to stash their belongings). The CLC participant will be supporting a healthy lifestyle for themselves, but also for the “Total Trek Quest” youth runner that their CLC entry fee also covers. Last but not least, their CLC effort will be recorded for eternity in a group photo to be published in the Holland Sentinel!

It’s a friendly competition, but it’s your opportunity to show what a great leader you are while incorporating healthy living! For more information, visit tuliptime.com/run!