Spring arrives in Ottawa -- AT LAST !

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After a Winter that brought only moderate snowfall, but unspeakable cold that lasted far beyond its “Best Before Date”, Spring finally arrived in Ottawa in early May. That was, fortunately, just in time for the start of the Tulip Festival, which saw over three million tulips planted in half a dozen selected locations throughout the National Capital Region (Ottawa ON and Gatineau QC), plus many others that are not part of the “official” plan. This is now the site of North America’s largest annual tulip festival, which attracts about half a million visitors over ten days to view the flowers and participate in a wide variety of activities. For more information go to: http://tulipfestival.ca/.

Add to that a multitude of flowering crabapple and other trees, and you have a sudden but long overdue outburst of colour and celebration at last. Here are some photos to help dull the memory of that most gloomy and disgusting of winters, but first a bit of history ...

Canada sheltered the Dutch Royal Family throughout World War II, and was the main agent in the liberation of the Netherlands. Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa during those dismal days. The grateful Dutch gave 100,000 tulips to Ottawa in 1946, and have added more ever since. In May, celebrations honouring Canada’s remaining WWII vets mark the War’s end throughout the Netherlands, most prominently in Apeldoorn, which even created a special commemorative gold and red tulip for the occasion.

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