Welcome to the Fortieth Skagit Valley Tulip Festival!

Our big, in-person gala is back for the 2023 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival! The Judd & Black Appliance/ Peoples Bank Gala Celebration will take place at the Snohomish Casino and Lodge from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. on March 25. Attendees can expect a fabulous evening featuring swing dancing with music and vocals by Skagit Swing Big Band, a cocktail & appetizer hour at 6 p.m., and buffet dinner at 7 p.m. There will be a silent auction fundraising program where people will bid on items on their phones with QR codes or login to the online auction ahead of time and place a bid. It’s a snazzy system; bidders will receive updates if they’ve been outbid on an item. Guests are highly encouraged to pre-register for the auction and take a look at the items. Tickets to the Gala must be purchased online or by calling the Tulip Festival office in advance. To purchase tickets, register for the auction, or make a donation, visit https://event.auctria. com/07f094a1-320a-4885-8f34e328593d3ea7/ or use the QR code. Said festival President Cindy Verge, “It is delightful to welcome everyone back in person for the start of the Tulip Festival. We think people will really enjoy the evening and we hope to have a full-house at our Gala.”

Thank you to our volunteers and donors

The Tulip Festival depends on hundreds of donated hours from students and other community members and sponsorship money from more than 200 local businesses and organizations. Staffed with volunteers, the Tulip Festival office is open through the month of April to provide information and brochures, maps, and festival merchandise. Said Verge, “We are so thankful for our volunteers, donors, and local media who play a big role in advertising the festival, including Skagit Publishing who doubles as a sponsor.”

Facebook Photo Contest

It’seasy and fun to participate in our annual Facebook Photo Contest, presented by North Coast Credit Union. Check www.Facebook. com/SkagitValleyTulipFestival for entry details, weekly finalists, and the winning photos. Applicants are encouraged to submit one photo per week during the month of April; our committee will choose weekly finalists and announce the winners in various categories at the end of the festival. The winning photographers will receive a signed 2023 poster and have their photo published in the festival brochure in 2024.

Tulip Festival History

The mission of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is to coordinate and promote a countywide spring celebration of the tulip bloom, in commemoration of the valley’s annual tulip harvest, and to be an advocate for Skagit Valley agriculture. In the early 1980s, then Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce directors Jerry Digerness and Joan Houchen recognized that thousands of people were coming to visit the tulips of Skagit Valley. They decided to form the official Tulip

Festival and created a weekend of events and festivities meant to entice and enhance visitors’ trips to the area during the month of April. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was officially inaugurated by the chamber in 1984 and was run through that office until 1994 when the festival became its own entity. In 2002, separation from the chamber was completed when the organization moved to its own offices.

Over the decades the festival has grown in length. The event began as a three-day weekend; jumped to 10 days, then 17 and has been a full 30 days since 2003. With the unpredictability of the weather, the full 30 days means that the tulips have a greater chance of blooming during the festival.

Cindy Verge has been working for the Tulip Festival since 1999 and has been its executive director since 2003; she has a BA in Communications from the University of Washington. In addition, Cindy has earned the title “Certified Festival and Event Executive” from the International Festival & Events Association (IFEA). Verge works with a 20-person volunteer board of directors (including voting members and advisory positions) who govern the festival and provide support for festival-operated events such as the Gala, the fall poster unveiling, and the annual Tulip Parade.

Social Media

The Tulip Festival Facebook page has been a growing and integral part of the festival’s success for years with over 80,000 followers. The Instagram page has also been gaining traction in recent years, increasing its followers to over 15,000 last year. Said Verge, “Facebook is a great place for people to learn about the festival and for us to share updated information during the festival while cont. on pg. 7

Instagram is the perfect platform for sharing beautiful pictures and videos of the blooms. We are getting out into the fields each day to take and share pictures on our social media pages and website.” Be sure to follow both the Instagram and Facebook pages for beautiful pictures and announcements throughout the year as we welcome new sponsors, share information about events in the Skagit Valley, and keep festival enthusiasts informed about the flower fields.

Skagit Publishing supports the Tulip Festival by hosting and maintaining the festival’s official website. Said Cindy, “The website has all the information people need to enjoy the festival. We hope you’ve been making use of some of the new features. Because our brochure is printed in January, our website will have new events and activities that have been added since January.” The site has more than 700,000 unique visitors annually, with most visits occurring during the month of April. In addition to the interactive map and daily updates on blooms and tulip field hours, site visitors can shop for merchandise, find updated pictures and details about events, and get handy travel tips – all in a mobile friendly format.

What to See & Do

The 2023 Tulip Festival is open from April 1-30. Check tulipfestival.org for updates on blooms, a calendar of events, maps and places to stay, eat, and shop. Said Cindy, “We’re thrilled to be fully back to normal this year. Our ambassador program is back as well as the annual PACCAR Technical Center Open House where the public can tour the semi-truck test and development center.”

Events are spread throughout the valley in cities from Sedro-Woolley to Anacortes, Mount-Vernon, Burlington, and La Conner. Our fabulous, sanctioned events include the Kiwanis Salmon BBQ, the Street Fair, WoodFest, the Tulip Days Basketball Tournament, the Chili & Chowder Cook-Off, and the Tulip Parade. Said

Cindy, “We have a new event this year in Concrete: a celebration of the moving This Boy’s Life movie at the Concrete Theater on April 22 and 23.” Visit the events page on tulipfestival. org for a complete list of 2023 events.

Be sure to visit Christianson’s Nursery, Snow Goose Produce, Schuh Farms, RoozenGaarde, Tulip Town, Garden Rosalyn, and the new tulip grower this year called Tulip Valley Farms. Revel in the beauty of the colorful tulip fields, take photos of exquisite flower displays, order bulbs, buy cut flowers and mementos, eat and drink, and enjoy the local shops and events. Said Verge, “In addition to Tulip Festival events, there are lots of hidden gems to discover around the Skagit Valley from roadside stands to cont. on pg. 8 local restaurants and more.”

Festival Tips

•We strongly encourage you to pre-purchase your display garden tickets in advance. Note: tickets are non-refundable so wait to buy until you are sure when you can go. The tulipfestival.org website has links to purchase tickets for all four gardens on the home page.

•Avoid the crowds by planning a mid-week trip or arrive by 9 a.m.

•Tulip crops rotate every year and blooming fields vary day-to-day based on weather conditions. Before you head out check tulips.com/bloommap or call

360-428-5959 to make sure you are going to the fields with blooming flowers. The Tulip Festival website has a bloom button that shares updates for all four gardens.

•Be sure to make a pit-stop at home or in town before heading out to the fields.

• When traveling to the festival use Highway 20 and take exit 230 in Burlington. From there the side roads will provide easier access to the tulip fields with decreased traffic congestion compared to the main roads.

• Park FREE at all four gardens, RoozenGaarde (on Beaver Marsh Road), Tulip Town (on Bradshaw Road), Tulip Valley Farms

(Bradshaw Road and Pulver Road), and Garden Rosalyn (on Jungquist Road).

• The festival is a driving or cycling tour with events miles apart. Visit tulipfestival.org/map, pick up a brochure with a map, or print off a map from our website. This pocket or purse-sized map printout is a great backup in case your internet connection goes spotty or your phone dies. Note: the maps identify locations but are not to scale.

• Tulip fields are usually muddy. Wear rubber boots and clothes that you don’t mind getting wet/dirty. Bring garbage bags for dirty clothes and muddy boots and a change of clothes and footwear.

• Pets are not allowed at Roozengarde but Garden Rosalyn, Tulip Town, and Tulip Valley Farms allow wellbehaved leashed dogs. See Festival Suppliers article for details. Drones are prohibited in the gardens and fields, except for Tulip Valley Farms.

Tulip Festival Tours

Are you looking for a small group tour of the tulips led by a knowledgeable local guide? Bring your camera and enjoy a day centered around the glorious tulip fields without having to plan the whole trip on your own.

If you’re coming from areas outside of the Skagit Valley, we recommend these options:

Skagit Guided Adventures (360) 474-7479

www.skagitguidedadventures.com

Experience the colorful tulip fields and exquisitely arranged gardens on Skagit Guided Adventures’ four-hour small group tours. Learn about the tulip history, industry, and festival from friendly local guide Stephanie, who has over 30 years’ experience. Tours run daily at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Free pickup from area hotels and the Mount Vernon Amtrak Station. Satisfaction guaranteed!

WSU Master Gardener StepOn Guides

tuliptours@skagitmg.org http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/

Sponsored by WSU Skagit County

Master Gardeners, the Tulip Festival Step-On Guides operate throughout the month of April. A trained master gardener will meet your group at the eight-acre MG Discovery Garden in Mount Vernon where they provide a complimentary tour along with beverages and refreshments. After the tour, the group heads to the tulip fields cont. on pg. 10

Experience Skagit History

Three outstanding galleries of fascinating Skagit history Preserving and presenting the history of Skagit County ‘for all people, for all time’.