Orange City, Iowa — The 79th annual Orange City Tulip Festival begins Thursday and runs through Saturday. Orange City Chamber of Commerce executive director, Mike Hoffman gives us some highlights.
Hoffman says one of the featured events is the Tulip Festival Night Show.
Hoffman says the northwest Iowa Dutch community will not only celebrate the 80th edition of the Tulip Festival next year — but it will also be Orange City’s 150th Sesquicentennial celebration.
According to Hoffman, cool weather has been a concern, but things are warming up at the right time for the festival.
Many of the townsfolk can be seen dressed in traditional Dutch costumes as they celebrate and he says the festival is focused on a couple of things.
He says the Netherlands are below sea level, and that led to the use of the wooden shoe to keep their feet dry and it’s part of the tradition in Orange City.
Traditional Dutch foods are sold at the festival like poffertjes, saucijsjes, and Dutch babies, among food vendors selling all different kinds of food from burgers to tacos, snow cones to funnel cake.
Some of the other highlights of the Tulip Festival include a carnival, a flower show, a craft show, and art show, the Dutch Dozen singers, and the Vogel Windmill tour.
