News Flowers
72nd Canadian Tulip Festival honours RCAF centenary

The Canadian Tulip Festival, in Ottawa, Ont., is celebrating a century of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) over 11 days and nights from Friday, May 10 to Monday, May 20.

The festival’s roots trace back to the original Ottawa Civic Hospital, where Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born during World War II. Established in 1953, the festival commemorates the gift of tulips from the Netherlands to Canada following the war, symbolizing international friendship and peace.

This year, at Commissioners Park, Dow’s Lake, more than 300,000 tulips in Ottawa will be featured of the million that bloom in Ottawa.

Opening ceremonies began at 10:30am on May 11, and included this year’s honoured World War II veteran, RCAF tail gunner Ronald “Shorty” Moyes. Following remarks from dignitaries and the ceremonial sponsor, Calian Group, the festival opening was marked by both a cannon salute from HMCS Carleton, and an RCAF fly past.

The festival is free and ungated and offers a new self-guided Tulip Legacy Tour using seven stops with QR Codes. While telling Ottawa’s history, it allows visitors to travel back in time over eight millennia. The Tulip Market featured regional artisans offering tulip-themed items, along with the Tulip Boutique, offering official merchandise and souvenirs, with proceeds supporting the Canadian Tulip Legacy.

This year’s festival coincides with the centenary of the RCAF as a distinct military element.