It’s looking like The Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa is going virtual again this year.
As of this week, the Province of Ontario has announced a stay-at-home order within weeks of the tulips blooming at the festival site in Commissioners Park, at Dow’s Lake.
“The safest way to enjoy the tulips this year is online,” stressed the festival’s Executive Director, Jo Riding. “With the information provided by Ottawa Public Health, we knew to prepare for a third variant-based wave this spring and have done everything we can to bring the tulips to Ottawa, Canada, and the world.”
Fans of the festival are asked to stay home and experience the gift of tulips through an immersive virtual experience at www.tulipfestival.ca.
Virtual walking tours with a live tour guide are being offered from May 14 – 24, 2021, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm EST, and cost $10 per ticket.
Festival organizers aren’t new to hosting a virtual festival, having had to pivot to a completely online event last spring within two months of the pandemic. Given their experience last year, organizers were understandably cautious when planning for the upcoming 69th edition of Ottawa’s longest-running, largest attended event.
For those who live in the Ottawa area, the festival is fundraising through the sale of fresh, locally-grown cut tulip bouquets, sold online for curbside pickup or next-day delivery. All proceeds of the flower sales go towards the continuation of the Canadian Tulip Legacy, a registered charity.
The thirty public tulip gardens in the National Capital Region will remain open for local visitors, but festival organizers ask that they wear a mask, visit at non-peak hours and follow social distancing guidelines while enjoying the flowers.
Admission to the festival site at Commissioners Park beside Dow’s Lake is free.
