What Is The Annual Tulip Festival In Pella, Iowa?
It’s Tulip Time!!
Want to discover what the annual tulip festival in Pella, Iowa, is all about? Let’s dive in together and explore it!
Every year in early May, the city of Pella celebrates its history with the Pella Tulip Time Festival. As I explored the town, I discovered an event full of Dutch heritage, tasty cuisine and dazzling tulips decorating shop windows and gardens.
The main streets of Pella are packed with people for the three-day festival. Music fills the air, merchants sell their wares from kiosks in the parks and along streets, and laughter and good cheer abound. Colorful decorations adorned storefronts and balconies to celebrate the event, which draws more than 200,000 visitors from near and far.
Wherever you walk in this quaint Iowa town, you will be greeted by lovely tulip arrangements. Whether in front of stores or businesses, along the sidewalks, in city parks, or in people’s yards and gardens, these cheerful flower beds bring a lively splash of color to the streets.
Back in 1847, Dutch settlers came here and created a home. To commemorate that history, this now famous tulip festival was established: a weekend-long event filled with Dutch dancing, music, gorgeous tulips, and people wearing traditional Dutch garb.
As dissenters from the state Reformed church, they were persecuted in their own country and came to the United States seeking religious freedom. Subsequently, they called their new home Pella, after a biblical refuge city in Jordan.
Pella was also the boyhood home of Wyatt Earp, one of the most famous Old West figures. The Earp family moved to Pella in 1849, living here until 1864.
Here’s an interesting fact: A grid of religious and patriotic names was given to the town’s streets (running east and west) Columbus St., Franklin St., Washington St., Main St., Liberty, Union St., and Independence St.; and the avenues (running north and south) Peace, Enrollment, Inquiry, Perseverance, Reformation, Gratitude, Experience, Patience, Confidence, Expectations, and Fulfillment as Pella grew.
Tulips Rule! Now Where To Find Them?
Whether you explore Tulip Avenue in Central Park, stroll through Scholte House Gardens or admire the vibrant blooms of Fair Haven Memorial Garden, there are over 300,000 tulips to discover in Pella’s 9.35 square miles.
On Franklin Street, West Market Park and its 1000s of vibrant tulips are a short jaunt from the downtown area. During the Pella Tulip Time Festival, the Dutch Craft Market can also be found here, featuring over a hundred different vendors.
Sunken Gardens Park is named for the pond at its center, formed as a Dutch wooden shoe. People can have fun ice skating in the winter and witness over 13,000 tulips blooming in the springtime, making it an attractive destination all throughout the year.
Ther Are Many Reasons To Visit Pella, Iowa
There are many reasons to visit Pella, and one of them is the colorful festival. Additionally, the town has other attractions such as:
- The newly renovated Klokkenspel is half a block east of the square on Franklin St. Experience mechanical figures as they perform to the music of a 147-bell carillon.
- Molengracht Plaza. A 21st-century entrepreneurial spirit meets Old World charm at the Molengracht complex. With over 100,000 square feet, the plaza was built to replicate an authentic Dutch canal in Pella’s downtown business district.
- Dutch Craft Market. Stroll through West Market Park and enjoy 100+ booths filled with various shopping delights, including craft, food, and beverage stands. The Pella Business Women has hosted the Dutch market for over 10 years.
- Scholte House Gardens. The Scholte Gardens are behind the Scholte House Museum on Main and Broadway Streets. The gardens are free, open to the public, and feature over 35,000 colorful tulips. While you’re there, make sure to check out the Pella Garden Club’s flower show. You’ll have the opportunity to see the latest designs and even order your tulip bulbs for planting in the fall.
- Jaarsma Bakery. Assorted pastries, loaves of bread, and other imported treats, Jaarsma Bakery, is famous for Dutch Letters – an almond-filled pastry shaped like an S. This is a must-visit place, but it’s best to go early during the tulip festival to avoid long lines that form quickly.
- Visit the Vermeer Windmill, one of the tallest working windmills in North America! Almost every small Dutch town has a mill at its center. The Vermeer Mill, an 1850s-style “koren mill,” was named after the Harry and Bernice Vermeer family, whose dream was to have a mill in Pella. The Vermeer Mill was designed and built by Lukas Verbij in Hoogmade, the Netherlands. It was shipped to Iowa and reassembled here in Pella in 2002.
The Pella Tulip Festival
The focal point of the celebrations is Franklin Street, located close to the Tulip Toren Tulip Tower. Here, revelers can get a taste of the old-world atmosphere and energy of this traditional event. Around the city square, music and festivities abound.
The streets are buzzing with activity as vendors line up their stalls, selling Dutch street food to passersby. You’ll find everything from sweet funnel cakes to savory Dutch sausage and Poffertjes, tiny pancakes that melt in your mouth. Do not forget about Friites – fries served with a special sauce that makes them irresistible! While you eat, you can watch the tulip fields sway gently in the breeze – a sight you won’t soon forget.
Visitors to the area on the weekend will have a chance to experience Dutch culture firsthand. People of all ages can be seen wearing traditional wooden shoes and other Dutch costumes authentically reflecting their heritage.
Pella’s cobblestoned streets and sidewalks reverberate with the sound of klompers-clad feet from both street dancers and passing pedestrians.
The afternoon and evening parades have bands, floats, and, of course, street scrubbing.
During the weekend festivities, scrubbers as young as 2 to those nearing 90 years old will carry buckets of water, many suspended from wooden yokes, dancing and scrubbing the streets with brushes and brooms as onlookers cheer and have a great time as they clap along.
Final Thoughts
Have you been thinking of what will happen to the tulips at the festival once they start to fade? Within the coming weeks, over 32,000 annual flowers and 45 different kinds of plants will be planted in their place, bringing beautiful colors that will last throughout summer.
The Annual Tulip Festival in Pella, Iowa, is an event you will remember. I look back fondly on the memories of attending as a child with my family, and I went back again in 2023—it was just as wonderful as ever.
Check out the online tulip cam for some exciting sights. For an up-to-date listing of events happening around downtown Pella, click on this link!
Other Nearby Areas To Explore
Looking to make the most of your visit to Pella? Check out these nearby attractions for some added excitement to your trip.
- Twenty miles west of Pella is Knoxville, Iowa and the home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.
- Tour guides of Pella are available with TourHQ.
- Extend your trip and visit Des Moines, Iowa and the state capitol just 45 miles away.
- Take a guided tour of the Amana colonies.
- Iowa City is a destination for artists worldwide and the home of Hawkeye sports.
Cheers to your next adventure!
Hi, I’m Kirsti.
My blog, Kirsti Out Wandering, is a guide for unique experiences. I explore less popular areas to uncover a destination’s culture and hidden potential.
From the perspective of a curious wanderer, I seek the potential rather than the obvious.
I hope you will wander along with me!