Tulip Festival Orange City Iowa

Orange City was established by Dutch settlers who aimed to preserve their rich heritage as they started new lives in America. Starting modestly in 1936 Orange City’s Tulip Festival is still around today. The annual festival takes place every third week in May celebrating vibrant tulips with authentic Dutch attire, traditional dances and food.    

In 1935 we start to see newspapers talking about a flower club in Orange City Iowa forming with a mission to buy 100,000 tulip bulbs for 3 cents each from the Netherlands with the aim of starting a tulip festival in 1936, if you plant it they will bloom... 88 years later the Orange City Tulip Festival is still here to remind us of the heritage and Dutch traditions brought to the Midwest.  

Legend has it that in 1933 there was a tulip show that sparked interest in doing a mass planting of tulips to plan a festival. Tens of thousands of bulbs were planted in 1935 with hopes they would bloom for the one day festival in 1936.  

The first festival was a success as were all those that followed. Continuing to grow and innovate they would add a Tulip Festival Queen in 1937 and added another day to the event in 1938 with a 3rd day being added in 1950. Parades, folk dancing, traditional dress and of course tulips are keep this tradition alive and keep visitors coming to Orange City’s Tulip Festival every year.