30-04-2025
Parades, Dutch Dance, events: Everything you need to know for the 2025 Tulip Time Festival
HOLLAND — Tulip Time is almost here with 648,000 tulips ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors for Holland's annual celebration of the tulip and Dutch heritage.
This year marks the 96th annual festival, with official dates being Friday-Sunday, May 2-11. There is no admission price for the festival itself, but several events and exhibits require paid tickets. Those can be purchased
With so many events, activities and celebrations planned, it can be difficult to keep track of everything Tulip Time has to offer. Below is a guide to the 2025 festival, including where to see tulips, parade details, entertainment and more.
Tulips planted in the fall by city parks staff and volunteers can be seen throughout downtown Holland, 12 miles of Tulip Lane, Window on the Waterfront Park and Centennial Park. Windmill Island Gardens, which requires an admission fee, offers a view of over 140,000 tulips.
The Tulip Immersion Garden, which requires an admission fee, at Beachwood Church offers a unique way to surround yourself with tulips. Dutch horticulturist Ibo Gülsen uses 65,000 tulips of different varieties and colors to set up a week-long immersion experience.
The garden offers tulips at eye-level and multiple photo opportunities. Tickets can be purchased online. The Immersion Garden will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. May 2-3 and May 5-10, along with 12-5 p.m. May 4.
Nelis' Dutch Village, 12350 James St., showcases over 30,000 tulips inside it's re-creation of an 1800s Dutch village. An admission fee is required and can be purchased online or in-person.
Veldheer Tulip Gardens, 12755 Quincy St., offers sights of over 5,000,000 tulips, along with tens of thousands of other flowers. The business has stated it expects peak blooms May 1-5.
The gardens require a ticket that can be purchased in person. It will be open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. May 2-10.
There will be two parades through downtown Holland during the festival.
First is the Gentex Kinderparade (Children's Parade) at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 8, featuring students from area schools. The parade starts with street scrubbing where the mayor and city council wear white gloves to inspect the parade route.
The parade will start at Eighth Street and Columbia Avenue, continuing down Eighth Street to Kollen Park, ending at the intersection of Van Raalte Avenue and 11th Street.
The Quality Car Wash Volksparade (People's Parade) starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10. The parade includes music, Dutch Dance and participants from across the state.
In a change from previous years, the Volksparade will follow the same route as the Kinderparade, ending at Kollen Park. The change was made due to safety concerns, Tulip Time officials said. Previously, the parade continued down Van Raalte Avenue to Holland High School.
More: Tulip Time announces major change to Volksparade for 2025
A carnival at the Holland Civic Center will operate every day of the festival with various hours. It will feature rides, games and a variety of fair food delights. For daily hours and to purchase ride wristbands, visit
The carnival does not allow unaccompanied minors and anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent, per the Tulip Time website.
The festival concludes with a free firework show in partnership with Latin Americans United for Progress on Saturday, May 11. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at Kollen Park and will include food trucks and live music leading up to a firework display over Lake Macatawa.
Tulip Time offers a variety of guided tours to get the most out of Holland's blooms.
VIP tours will be offered May 2, 4, 5 and 6 starting at 8 a.m. at Beachwood Church. As of the morning of April 30, tickets are still available for May 2 and 4.
Tours cost $150 and include lunch, tickets to Windmill Island Gardens and the Tulip Immersion Garden, city tour stops at local landmarks and Hope college and a trip to Holland State Park to see Big Red.
Historic walking tours will be offered every day of the festival starting at 8:30 a.m. at Window at the Waterfront. Tickets are $35 and include a costumed local guide to see historic sites, tulip beds and local sites. Tours last around an hour and 15 minutes.
Dutch Dancing shows and lessons will be offered throughout the whole festival.
Daily lessons will be held from 4-4:30 and 4:30-5 p.m. at Centennial Park from May 2-9. Attendees can join expert Dutch Dancers to get their klomp on and learn how to Dutch Dance for free.
For those who would rather sit back and watch, there will be plenty of chances throughout the festival.
A Dutch lunch with a dance performance will be offered daily at 11:30 a.m. May 2-9 at Evergreen Commons for $26. The meal includes traditional Dutch dishes such as pea soup, pigs in a blanket, a slaw and a dessert. During the meal, Dutch Dancers will preform their signature Klompen Dance.
More: First U.S. store for Netherlands-based delftware shop now open in downtown Holland
Other chances to view Dutch Dance include performances by the Kinder/Middel group and the Highschool/Alumni group. There is no cost to view the performances, which take place outdoors.
The Kinder/Middel dances features dancers ranging from third grade to adults wearing traditional Dutch costumes and wooden shoes. Performances at Central Avenue at Centennial Park will start at 6:30 p.m. daily, May 2-10.
The Highschool/Alumni group dances at Central Avenue at Centennial Park as well and will start at 7 p.m. daily, May 2-10. These dancers will also take part in the Volksparade.
Several concerts will take place throughout the festival, including including returning favorites and cover bands.
Great Scott, a six-piece West Michigan cover band, will kick off music festivities for Tulip Time at 7 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Civic Center. The band plays "the best rock & roll songs from the '70s-'90s" featuring two electric guitars, drums, bass, piano, keyboard and acoustic guitar. Tickets are $35.
Second Hand News will recreate the experience of seeing Fleetwood Mac in their heyday at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Civic Center. Tickets are $45.
Hope Church will host a Dutch Music Organ concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 4. Tickets are $16 for the performance by Rhonda Sider Edgington, the music director and organist at Hope Church, and Flutist Jayne Gort.
FiddleFire will preform a variety of genres with a folksy twist and instrumentation including fiddles, guitar, bass, mandolin and percussive clogging. They will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at Central Wesleyan Church. Tickets are $32.
Forever Motown will preform songs from the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terell and Stevie Wonder during a show starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at Central Wesleyan Church. Tickets are $45.
The Holland American Legion Band will have two concerts on Thursday, May 8, at 6 and 8 p.m. at the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts on the campus of Hope College. Tickets are $20.
Performances will include pillars from the concert band literature, a salute to armed forces and guest artist Maria Vomlejn Flurry the principal timpanist with the Flagstaff Symphony and Arizona Philharmonic.
More: Holland flower farm offering chance to pick your own tulips during Tulip Time
Country artist Rodney Atkins will serve as the festival's headlining act. His show begins at 7 p.m. Friday, May 9, at Central Wesleyan Church. Tickets cost $58.
Atkins has released five studio albums, including his latest 'Caught Up in The Country' in 2019, along with a greatest hits album in 2015. He's had six songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart: 'If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows),' 'Watching You,' 'These Are My People,' 'Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy),' 'It's America' and 'Take a Back Road.'
Tickets for all shows can be purchased at
In addition to those listed above, there are a variety of arts, culture and crafting events throughout the festival for attendees to enjoy.
The Tulip Time Quilt Show will take place at 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 2-10 at Midtown Center. For $8, attendees can view over 100 quilts by West Michigan quilters. Guests can also purchase raffle tickets to win a one-of-a-kind quilt.
The Holland Area Arts Council is hosting a free to attend Art in Bloem Fine Art Exhibit May 2-9. The exhibit, with a collection of 20 artworks celebrating tulips, will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
From May 2-9 on Central Avenue at Centennial Park, families can enjoy a free story time from 10:00-10:30 a.m. with De Familiedans. Stories will be told by Dutch Dancers and feature a dance lesson.
The Tulip Time Artisan Market will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, at the Ottawa County Fair Grounds. The market will feature over 300 vendors and will have food trucks on site as well.
Holland Community Theatre will perform "Every Little Crook and Nanny" at 7 p.m. May 3 and 7, although the May 3 show is sold out. Tickets for May 7 are still available and are $23. The comedy performance features the story of a retired nanny and her friends who inadvertently get entangled in a mobster's heist plan.
Huisman Flowers will offer floral arranging classes from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. May 5 and 6. Tickets cost $55 and participants will create their own arrangement to take home.
Local Photographers June and Doug Kuiper are offering guided photo walks from 7-9 p.m. daily May 5-8 at Windmill Island Gardens. Tickets are $45 and include entrance to Windmill Island Gardens. All participants will have the option to submit one photo taken during the event to be selected as Best Picture. One winner per class will have their photo featured in Tulip Time's social media posts.
Knickerbocker Theatre will offer two free showings of "From Wilderness to World Class," an 80-minute movie about Holland's past, present and future. The showings start at 1 p.m. on May 7 and 9.
Local Artist Carolyn Stich will offer a wooden shoe painting class from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. May 7 at Warehouse 6. Tickets cost $55 and include one wooden shoe to paint.
A cutting board workshop will be held from 4-5 p.m. May 9 at Warehouse 6. Tickets are $55 and include all materials, tools and equipment to finish a walnut cutting/charcuterie board to take home.
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The Tulip City Open Pickle Ball Tournament will take place May 2-4 at MVP Sports Holland. The tournament proceeds benefit Gateway Mission. This second annual event will be DUPR rated. Registration is currently closed.
The Tulip Time Run will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 3, at Kollen Park featuring a 5K, 10K, kids' fun run and the Tulip Time Virtual Run. Registration is still open.
For the most updated information, visit
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@ Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Tulip Time 2025 guide: Parades, Dutch Dance, concerts and more
