Orange City, Iowa — The costumes to be worn by the 2024 Orange City Tulip Festival Court and the name of this year’s parade marshal have been announced.
The announcements were made during the annual Orange City Tulip Festival Extravaganza, which was held Wednesday, March 20, at Prairie Winds Event Center in Orange City.
TULIP COURT COSTUMES
Organizers tell us the 2024 Tulip Court will wear the authentic Party Walchren costume, which dates back to 1860. Walcheren is an island in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands known for farming, fishing, shipbuilding, distilling, brewing, and spinning.
Info from the Tulip Festival Steering Committee about the costumes:
The hat has two parts. The outer hat is the Sun Bonnet or Zonmuts, made of cream-colored satin and bordered with Navy Blue. The under hat or Ondermuts is elegant, with heavy white lace by the cheek, trimmed with narrow lace. The hat is held together with pins that connect to the Ear Iron or Oorizer. This spiral piece is decorated with Hat Ornaments or Strikken at the temple. The bodice, or buek, is a cream-colored bib worn under the jacket. The neckline is accented with gold lace and braid. It has been tediously cross-stitched with symbols representing its wearer’s life. Between the 6 cross stitch volunteers, over 500 hours have gone into making these details.
The scarf, or Doekje, is made of rust, white, and green chiffon. It is folded into a very narrow shape and tacked to the inside of the jacket. The jacket, or Jak, is gold for our Queen and rust for our court. It is short and close-fitting, with close-fitting sleeves. The skirt or Rok is made from 2 different striped fabrics and is pleated into a slimming waistline. The aprons are hand-pleated to fit the wearer’s waist and finished with a velvet waistband.
PARADE MARSHAL
The Tulip Festival Steering Committee tells us they are also “pleased to honor Mark Van Ommeran as the parade marshal for the 83rd annual event.” They say that Van Ommeran, a graduate of MOC-FV, and his wife Becky have been part of the Orange City community since 1980. They opened and operated the Audio Video Appliance store for 14 years before deciding to sell the business. Mark then transitioned to a new role at the How to Building Center in Sioux Center, where he dedicated his skills and expertise until his retirement in June of 2022.
The Van Ommerans say they enjoy visiting and spending time with their three children and four grandchildren. Their son Philip lives in Council Bluffs, their daughter Rachel, her husband, and their four boys live in Yankton, SD, and their daughter Abby and her husband live in Monument, CO.
The steering committee tells us Van Ommeran’s involvement in the Tulip Festival spans nearly four decades, starting in 1983 when he first assisted with sound for the Night Show production of HMS Pinafore and the Dutch Dozen performances. He continued to run sound for these programs until 1996, a total of over 130 Dutch Dozen Shows. Since 1983, he has been a steadfast volunteer for our street sound crew, dedicating countless hours to tasks such as stringing microphone and speaker cords, repairing overhead wiring, and setting up and tearing down each day of the festival. They say Van Ommeran’s contributions extend beyond technical support. “He is a familiar face as our lead volunteer for parade announcers, a role he has held for the past 20 years. We thank Mark for his dedicated service on the steering committee for the past 20 years!”
