This past Sunday afternoon, locals flocked to Union Square to grab a free bouquet of tulips from a pop-up garden of 200,000 flowers. In honor of Tulip Day, Royal Anthos, a Dutch trade association for flower bulbs, hosted the event in association with the European Union and the Netherlands Consulate General of New York. The holiday in the Netherlands celebrates the beginning of the tulip season, and though Tulip Day events have taken place in the past in U.S. cities, like San Francisco, this was the first for New York City.
“It’d be a nice tradition to have to come here with my wife and my kids on a yearly basis,” Antonio, who visited to pick tulips with his wife, Gigi, said. “Having the flowers and receiving spring — it brings joy.”
The event is part of the Future 400, a multi-year initiative run by the Netherlands Consulate General to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Dutch settlements in New York. In addition to Tulip Day, the initiative includes exhibitions, talks and programs on the historical ties between the Netherlands and New York City, ranging from Dutch art to Indigenous stories. Staff and attendees alike, however, are hopeful that Tulip Day will become an annual event.
“This is my favorite flower,” said Sarina Blanco who came from Harlem to attend the event. “I would love for this to happen every year or twice a year during the spring,”
With the sun shining throughout the afternoon, many found Tulip Day to be the ideal way to celebrate the start of spring, especially after a stormy week and chilly start to the season.
“It’s definitely making me feel like spring’s actually here in the city,” said Marina Leibowtiz.
Although many had to register to pick tulips from the makeshift flower field, the event allowed passers-by to enter through general admission by the late afternoon, making sure every last flower found a home. By the end of the day, over 17,000 people had attended and walked away with paper bags overflowing with the colorful blossoms.
Sarah Ko lives in the neighborhood, but she didn’t know about the event until she asked someone on the street where they had gotten their bouquet of tulips. Though an impromptu occasion, she was happy to have stopped by.
“This is the perfect springtime activity,” Ko said. “They’re tulips — a representation of a change in season.”
While the tulips were grown in the United States, the bulbs were cultivated in and imported from Europe. During the event, Ahmed Dadou, consul general of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York, introduced an exclusive New York tulip variety, called the Future 400, meant to symbolize the connection between the United States and the Netherlands.
“I like working with the tulips and making people happy,” said Bo Voets, a staff member whose family works for the flower farm that grows the bulbs. “It’s very beautiful.”
Most of the staff running the event were friends and family of people who helped grow the tulips, cultivate the bulbs or transport the flowers. Voets traveled from the Netherlands to New York exclusively for the event.
“There’s nothing more spring than a whole bunch of flowers, right?”
Contact Juliana Guarracino at [email protected].
