Katalong

Albany New York Tulip Festival , which is held every year on Mother’s Day weekend at Washington Park, celebrates the roots of the oldest Dutch settlement in the United States.

Over 400 years ago, Henry Hudson discovered the area on his 1609 trip across the Atlantic Ocean. The Dutch settled the area shortly after his discovery, which is why today the Albany New York Tulip Festival is a celebration of the rich history of the Dutch. The festival brings in people from all around the world who treasure the beauty of the tulips. During the week of the Tulip Festival, all the hotels Albany has to accommodate the festival visitors fill up and the city comes alive with many other activities to keep the tourists busy.

The Tulip Festival was first celebrated by proclamation of Albany’s Mayor Erastus Coming in 1948, and has been an annual tradition over Mother’s Day weekend for more than 60 years. The festival has grown exponentially every year since its inception. Currently, there are more than 140 varieties of tulips in beautifully maintained flowerbeds located in the Olmstead-influenced, 100 year old Washington Park. All the tulips are labeled with the names of each tulip variety.

The Albany New York Tulip Festival begins at noon on Friday with a traditional street scrubbing on State Street; this ritual keeps alive an old Dutch tradition of cleaning the streets before any special event. Afterwards, the Tulip Queen luncheon that honors the young women nominated for Tulip Queen and her court happens Friday afternoon. Friday evening, there is music in the park. On Saturday there is the coronation of the Tulip Queen followed by the Royal Tulip Ball that night.