|
|
|
The 2005 Canadian Tulip Festival is themed
“A Celebration of Peace and Friendship” and
will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the
end of the Second World War and the Gift of
Tulips to Canadians by the people of the
Netherlands.
The Canadian Tulip Festival has grown into
the largest tulip festival in the world from
a gift of thanks given six decades ago. In
the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the
Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000
tulip bulbs. The gift was given in
appreciation of the safe haven which
Holland's exiled royal family received
during the Second World War and in
recognition of the role which Canadian
troops played in liberating the Netherlands.
The tulips have become an important symbol
of international friendship and the beauty
of spring. They also have special meaning to
the people of Canada's Capital Region.
During the war, the Dutch royal family was
hosted at Government House in Ottawa.
Princess Margriet was born at the Ottawa
Civic Hospital. The floral gift that began
in 1945 has established this region as "The
Tulip Capital of North America".
Malak Karsh, the founder of the Canadian
Tulip Festival, began taking pictures of
these gifted tulips almost immediately and
his incredible artistry created a bond
between Ottawa and the Tulip that has
endured these sixty years.
The first Canadian Tulip Festival was held
in 1953. The Ottawa Board of Trade, at the
suggestion of world renowned photographer
Malak whose photographs
have immortalized
the tulip, formalized the Canadian Tulip
Festival to coincide with the tulip's annual
bloom.
Millions of tulips in over 70 varieties are
planted in Ottawa-Gatineau each year. The
National Capital Commission alone is
responsible for one million tulips. There
are more tulips blooming in Ottawa each
spring than in any other capital city in the
world, including Den Hague.
Each spring, the National Capital Commission
(NCC) is the official 'guardian' and
designer of the National Capital's gardens
by managing the colourful splendour and
stunning display of millions of tulips,
creating a magnificent backdrop for the
Canadian Tulip Festival. The NCC is
responsible for many of the impressive
flower beds and green spaces found
throughout the region located on Parliament
Hill, along Confederation Boulevard and the
Capital's scenic parkways and recreational
pathways, in front of national museums and
institutions and along the historic Rideau
Canal.
The most spectacular display of tulips is
found in Commissioners Park, an official
site of the Canadian Tulip Festival located
at Dows Lake and near the Rideau Canal,
where the NCC plants more than 300,000
tulips each year. Commissioners Park is also
home of the Tulip Legacy Exhibit, an exhibit
implemented by the NCC explaining the
history of the Dutch Royal Family's refuge
during the World War II and the contribution
of Canadian troops in the liberation of the
Netherlands in 1944-45.
The Canadian Tulip Festival has taken this
gift of friendship and promulgated it around
the world, first by creating Friendship
Countries in the celebrating of the
Festival, and by inaugurating the
International Peace Garden. |
