Spring is the season when the Skagit Valley shows her colors, and the season for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The daffodils peeking from the rich Skagit soil brings us the first hint of spring. Skagit Valley is on center stage when the tulips bloom which commences the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. You can take in the daffodils, tulips, & irises by foot, bicycle, tour bus or seaplane. The Valley is alive with tulip festival events & happenings from street festivals to art shows.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is the largest festival in Northwest Washington State. Each year more than 1 million visitors come to experience over 300 acres of brightly colored tulips. Skagit Valley Tulip Festival welcomes you!
Who is behind the tulips? Roozengaarde was established in 1985 by the Roozen family and Washington Bulb Company, Inc. The Roozen family business of growing Tulips, Daffodils and Irises is the largest in the world, covering Skagit Valley with more than 1200 acres of field blooms and 15 acres of greenhouses. William Roozen emigrated from Holland in 1947 with years of experience in the bulb industry. He had a good back, strong hands, and a heart pulsing with dreams. Roozen started a bulb farm on five acres of land, holding meetings in a garage and toiling long hours beside a few hired hands. He saved money by buying used tractors and farm equipment.
The Roozen family’s hard work ethic spans at least six generations. The family first began raising tulips in Holland in the mid-1700’s. In the Skagit Valley, Roozen (which means “roses” in Dutch) worked for other farmers before setting off on his own in 1950. Five years later, he purchased the Washington Bulb Co., founded by two of the area’s first bulb farmers, Joe Berger and Cornelius Roozekrans. The Washington Bulb Co. now farms about 2,000 acres of land. In 1985, William Roozen handed the business down to his five sons and a daughter, Bernadette Roozen Miller, who passed away in 1996. William Roozen passed away on July 13, 2002 and, with 35 grandchildren, was confident the family company will keep growing.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival keeps growing every year, and Skagitonians remain proud of the farming heritage of the Skagit Valley.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Tours
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival FAQ
Featured Sites:
Official Website
Festival Field Map
Related Sites:
Anacortes Chamber of Commerce
Burlington Chamber of Commerce
La Conner Chamber of Commerce
Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce
Sedro Woolley Chamber of Commerce
