Tulip Festival blooms with color at Wilson's Orchard
CUMMING, Iowa — A true sign of spring is when tulips are in full bloom, and Wilson's Orchard and Farm in Cumming is celebrating the season with its annual Tulip Festival.
The festival kicked off this weekend with hundreds enjoying the spring-like weather in the fields of colorful tulips.
Guests can visit the tulip field and even pick their own tulips. New this year is a Bouquet Bar inside the Farm Market, where pre-made bouquets are also available or guests can make their own bouquet from scratch at the bar.
'It's such a great feeling because you spend the winter all hunkered in and it's cold and you don't want to go outside, and then you get a chance to go outside and the weather is nice, tulips are blooming, and everything is great in life again,' said Paul Rasch, the owner of Wilson's Orchard and Farm.
The Tulip Festival comes at an exciting time for Wilson's Orchard, because they recently opened the Play Barn.
Rasch said the play barn was originally in Greenfield, Iowa. Before the devastating tornado ripped through town last year, his team was able to deconstruct the barn, and has now reconstructed it on their farm.
In a Facebook post announcing the opening of the Play Barn, Wilson's Orchard wrote, 'By reusing and recycling this material, we're not only preserving our Midwestern heritage but also contributing to a greener future. Incorporating reclaimed barn wood into our structures helps protect Iowa's rural landscape and reduce waste.'
The Play Barn is a three-story playground featuring climbing walls, a corn crib, and a 60-foot fast slide for children ages 3 to 16.
Aside from tulips blooming, Rasch said their orchard is also in full bloom. This is a fleeting annual event that lasts around three days, triggered by the end of winter dormancy. Rasch said it's rare for apples and tulips to be in bloom at the same time. Guests are welcome to hike down the two mile stretch to the orchard to see the 15-acres of apple tress in bloom.
Farm admission costs $5, which will allow guests to stroll through the tulip fields. To pick a dozen tulips there's an additional $18 charge. Pre-made bouquets without tulips cost $15 at the Bouquet Bar. Guests who choose to make their own bouquet at the bar can expect each flower to be priced per stem. The Play Barn admission costs $6.
Wilson's Orchard and Farm is open 10 a.m. through 9 p.m. on weekends and 11 a.m. through 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursday, and Fridays. They're located at 3201 15th Avenue in Cumming.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gordon Ramsay sightings in metro Detroit: Here's where
Was celebrity chef and reality cooking show star Gordon Ramsay in Detroit? It appears so. On various social media channels, there have been posts of Gordon Ramsay sightings. Those sightings included speculation that Ramsay and a crew were in town filming episodes of his new show, 'Secret Service" on the Fox Network. The show aims to examine major issues at struggling restaurants. Two metro Detroit restaurants that the celebrity chef allegedly may have visited included Boodles restaurant in Madison Heights and Firenze's Pizza in Warren. A June 3 Facebook post by Scanner of Warren showed pictures of Firenze's stating that Ramsay's "Secret Service" show was being filmed at the restaurant. According to the Firenze Restaurant and Pizzeria Facebook page, the family-owned spot on East 10 Mile Road in Warren is closed. The restaurant, the post stated, is reopening on Tuesday, June 10, with a "freshened up menu" promising customers that they will be "WOWWED!" by new menu items. What we do know, according to an Instagram post, is that Ramsay dined on June 8 at Grandma Bob's pizza spot in Corktown. 'We were honored and SO excited to have Chef Gordon Ramsey stop in to try our Detroit-style pie!,' according to the post. Grandma Bob's also asked, 'Wanna copy his order?!' and followed with: Caesar Salad 2 Greeks (the second Greek because he liked the first one so much) XL Pepperoni Sausage + Pistachio Pinot and Chianti The Free Press reached out via email to the FOX network, asking if Ramsay was filming the new show in the Detroit area. The network could not confirm if Ramsay's new show was filming here. A post on the website with a picture of Ramsay calls out for casting "struggling restaurants in or within 45 miles of Pittsburgh, Detroit or Cleveland." Ramsay's show, which premiered in May, is 'Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service.' Per the Fox TV network website, the weekly show features Chef Ramsay, with the help of a 'secret source' delivering inside restaurant intel on 'major issues facing each restaurant' that is featured on the episode. The source helps 'Ramsay infiltrate the restaurant after-hours for a dramatic nighttime black light kitchen investigation that reveals more filth and grossness than ever before' and other issues and problems the restaurant is facing. Ramsay is well known for his restaurants and various hit competitive TV shows, including Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, MasterChef Jr., and Next Level Chef. On his shows, Ramsay is also known for his blunt and often in-your-face demeanor, bleeped-out foul language and harsh criticism. More: Wyandotte waterfront restaurant reopening with Caribbean vibe, complete remodel and revamp More: Dutch Girl Donuts and the Schvitz owner buys iconic Detroit German restaurant A few years ago, Ramsay visited the Upper Peninsula to film an episode of his "Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted" series for National Geographic. For the series, Ramsay followed chefs and traveled to remote places in the world seeking out "culinary inspiration, epic adventures, and cultural experiences," National Geographic's website said. The episode featured diving among shipwrecks, helping monks at the Holy Transfiguration Skete, a Byzantine Catholic monastery in the Keweenaw Peninsula. It also featured Ramsay teaming up with chef James Rigato of award-winning Mabel Gray in Hazel Park. Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gordon Ramsay dines at Corktown spot: What he ordered
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Hampton gamer brings ‘Complex Loss' to virtual reality world
Jamal Johnson was chilling at his buddy's house in Hampton in 2022 when his friend casually asked if he'd like to try out a new virtual reality gaming system, all hooked up in the living room. Yeah man, Johnson said. If his friend was into it, sure, why not give it a go? So he slipped a VR headset over his forehead and across his eyes, and the real world disappeared as he was transported into a virtual 3D realm. When he raised his arms in his friend's living room, his character's arms went up in the game. He turned his head, and his field of vision in the game rotated from left to right, he said. It felt like magic. 'At that instant, I was like, 'I gotta learn this. I gotta figure this out.' I was like, 'Nothing else matters to me anymore.'' The experience prompted Johnson, 44, to change the entire business model of his Hampton-based company, the Music Video Training Center. For more than a decade, the company had been making iOS apps and helping artists, private firms and government agencies produce videos. But in only a few minutes of wearing that headset, Johnson saw virtual reality as the future of media — and, thus, the future of his company. And after several years of experimentation and learning the necessary programming, Johnson and his creative team released, early this year, their first VR game. It's called 'Complex Loss.' Complex Loss can be played on the Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest 3, which are standalone virtual headset systems, made by Meta Platforms, Inc., the company founded by Facebook-creator Mark Zuckerberg. Anyone who plays the game, plays as its main character. You, in the game, are an asset recovery agent sent on a mission to take back a business complex that's been stolen from the fictional RCM Corporation by a former, disgruntled employee. The game, which has received positive reviews online, has 10 levels. Each one is a different room, floor or outside area at the corporate office building such as a loading dock, recreation room and robotics lab. Its basic premise is based on the concept of an escape room, and in each level, the game's player finds clues that will unlock further progression. A player walks around the virtual environment picking up objects and uses a special scanning tool on their wrist to log recovered assets, and later confronts and fights bad guys. With its creators' previous film experience, the game sound effects are particularly unique. From beeps of pushed buttons to footsteps on different kinds of floorings to the thudding of objects a player can pick up and throw against walls, desks or anywhere of their choosing in the immersive-virtual space, each sound is a customized creation by the gamemakers. Complex Loss was recently spotlighted by SideQuest as one of the best VR games by independent gamemakers of summer 2025, and its release was a major step forward for a local media technology company — co-owned by Johnson and his 26-year-old partner, Dashawn Tucker-Bailey, from Newport News who joined the organization in 2018. The Music Video Training Center has had a hand in the creation of 21 films since Johnson founded it in 2008 and around 70 music videos that include MTV and BET credits, including a couple starring members of hip-hop supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan. In his first venture into video games in the mid 2010s, Johnson designed an Android app game, 'The Struggler,' for Hampton University that encouraged financial literacy. In it, a gamer plays as a 'struggling' person who must run down a street while being chased by bill collectors, Johnson said. 'Now each bill collector had a different power. So pink would be child support. If you got hit by child support, then money you had already collected to help you progress through the levels would be taken away.' It was a far simpler programming job than what's required for a virtual reality game. To create Complex Loss, Johnson teamed with his lead programer Robert Connell, who lives in Georgia. 'Our idea was that we already had a formula that everybody likes and enjoys in an escape room,' Connell said, 'so now how far can we take that within an immersive VR environment?' Building on the momentum of Complex Loss, Connell and Johnson have already begun work on its sequels with a plan to create a brand new series of escape room VR games. Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139,
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Aloha Authentic Ep 508
In this episode of Aloha Authentic, host Kamaka Pili welcomes cultural practitioner and 8th-generation weaver Keoua Nelsen to share his ʻike of lauhala. Keoua shares how his journey began under the guidance of his grandmother. Like many, he had a hard time getting the hang of the actual weaving. When frustration set in, he offered to help his grandmother gather leaves and material for her to weave. What seemed like a pause in learning became a foundational lesson. For Keoua, understanding where the leaves come from, how they grow, and the energy they carry is even more important than the weaving itself. He explains that the color of a hala leaf isn't just about the plant, it's shaped by its environment. Soil, minerals, water, and even weather all affect the quality and appearance of the leaf. Lauhala was originally woven for functional uses like mats, pillows, and baskets. Today, it is still rooted in tradition, however it has taken a more decorative role with its complex patterns and designs. As an 8th-generation weaver, Keoua carries a proud legacy. He recalls how his grandmother and her sisters were once asked to help recreate a lauhala sail for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. While honored, they respectfully declined. The challenge was too great given the complexity of the task. To bring the episode to life, Keoua walks Kamaka through a basic weaving technique to make a bracelet, a small but meaningful hands-on experience that ties together tradition, storytelling, and practice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
