Canada’s Capital Region – The National Capital Commission (NCC) is pleased to welcome the Canadian Tulip Festival to Commissioners and Major’s Hill parks, from May 6 to 23, 2011. The NCC provides the colourful displays of tulips found throughout the Capital Region.
Close to one million tulips, more than 50 varieties, will bring the NCC’s flower beds to life and offer a spectacular stage for the world’s largest tulip festival — the Canadian Tulip Festival.
NCC’S TULIP LEGACY EXHIBIT
Commissioners Park, May 6 to May 23, 2011
Visitors are invited to discover the events that led to the “Gift of Tulips” and the lasting friendship between Canada and the Netherlands through the Tulip Legacy exhibit and roaming interpretive guides. After the end of the Second World War, in recognition of the role Canadians played in the liberation of the country, as well as in gratitude for having sheltered Princess Juliana and her children during the war, the Dutch people sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada, with Princess Juliana adding 20,000 more. Since then, as a gesture of ongoing gratitude and friendship the Netherlands sends 20,000 bulbs to the Capital each year.
TULIPS AT THE NCC’S MACKENZIE KING ESTATE IN GATINEAU PARK
Beginning May 19, daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm (closed Tuesdays)
The Tearoom is open everyday from 11 am to 5 pm
William Lyon Mackenzie King was Prime Minister of Canada when Princess Juliana of the Netherlands sent a gift of thousands of tulip bulbs to the Canadian people to be planted in Canada’s Capital. Each spring, tulips also bloom at Mackenzie King Estate located in Gatineau Park. The historic buildings of the Estate, set among a unique collection of ruins and stunning gardens, will be open to the public beginning May 15, 2010.
While touring the Capital, visitors can pick-up a free copy of the brochure “Experience the Beauty! The National Capital Commission’s Tulip Beds”, which provides information on the tulip legacy story, maps out the location of key gardens and designated photo sites in some of the Capital’s most beautiful tulip displays, and recommends walking and cycling routes, with distances, to best enjoy the flowerbeds.
ABOUT THE NCC’S FLORAL PROGRAM
Each spring, close to one million tulips and 200,000 annuals planted by the NCC bloom on Parliament Hill, in Major’s Hill, Commissioners and Jacques-Cartier parks, as well as along Confederation Boulevard, the historic Rideau Canal, the Capital’s scenic parkways and recreational pathways, and in front of national museums and institutions. As the official gardener of Canada’s Capital, the NCC is responsible for the design and maintenance of many of the public gardens and the 90 flower beds found throughout the region. The most impressive display of tulips is found in Commissioners Park, where some 300,000 tulips bloom each year.
For more information on tulips, the public can contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800 465-1867, 613-239-5090 (TTY) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit the website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca/tulips.
For information on the Canadian Tulip Festival, the public can visit the Festival’s website at http://www.tulipfestival.ca/.