Thanksgiving Point started their tulip festival in 2005, and I was elated.
Later that year, they heard that I love tulips, and they invited my to come and paint. I have spent as much of my time as I could every spring in their gardens painting. I have lent them my art, and they have lent me their tulips. Each year since then, we have made a poster featuring some of my art. I have also had many media opportunities, news paper, live television, and even a mini documentary(you can see links to some of these on the sidebar). It has been so much fun. I have been pregnant or had a baby strapped to me most of the time these past few years, and I cherish the memories of being in the gardens with my daughters and with the tulips. I love getting to visit with everyone who comes to the festival. I am excited that it is almost that time again.
Each year has been a little different- it is hard to predict when the tulips will start blooming ahead of time, because there are so many factors that go into that. I painted this little watercolor above one year when the tulips bloomed a little later than the scheduled festival dates... and these were some of the most opened ones at that point. However, this year, I do mot think that will be the case- I think the gardens will be filled with tulips in bloom for this year's festival,
April 13 - 28, 2012
(closed Sundays)
10 am - 8 pm
and there are so many different tulips, the gardens change so much- there are early, middle and late tulips, so there are new tulips coming up all through the spring. The gardeners do such a wonderful job planting the flower beds so that as some tulips fade, new blooms replace them. Thousands of people will gather to see them because tulips make people happy.
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