MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — This weekend marks the start of Tulip season in the Skagit Valley. The annual Tulip Festival has come on tough times since the pandemic, but hopes are high that business will be in full bloom again this year.
Tourists are already in the fields of the Skagit Valley. Tulip season officially begins Saturday, but Tulip Valley Farms is taking advantage of the sunny skies to open a day early, hoping the clouds of the past four years have finally lifted.
"We have had biblical challenges growing tulips in the Skagit Valley," said Tulip Valley Farms owner Andrew Miller.
The fields were full of flowers but no people as the pandemic canceled the annual festival in 2020. The pandemic continued to hamper attendance the following year. Near-record flooding damaged fields in 2022. Last year, a cold spring brought the latest start to the bloom ever
This year, however, with an early opening over Easter weekend, it looks like things have finally taken a turn for the better.
"I don't want to jinx it but it feels great! It feels like we're finally through some of the storms," said Miller. "We are so fortunate this year that it's Easter weekend. It's before the first of April. Maybe we get an extra weekend of visitors."
The annual Tulip Festival attracts 400,000 to 500,000 visitors to Skagit County. They bring an estimated $65 million to the local economy. But the celebration has lost a bit of momentum with all of the bad luck.
In 2022 the Skagit Tourism Bureau was formed to reignite interest in the area and remind people the tulip festival is still here.
"We have an opportunity to talk to these visitors while they're here and show them all the things from the whales in Anacortes to the mountains at Marblemount. There's the outdoor recreation and everything in between," said bureau CEO Kristen Keltz.
At Tulip Town, 1.3 million bulbs are in the ground.
The tough years gave the farm the opportunity to reimagine the experience for its customers. After 40 years in business, they're now adding music, food trucks and an adult Easter egg hunt.
"I think one of the ways you survive is you don't give up. You keep going," said Tulip Town's Marisa Schwabe. "I think this is going to be the best year yet."
In addition to Tulip Valley and Tulip Town there are two other farms in the valley, RoozenGaarde and Garden Rosalyn. For more information, visit tulipfestival.org.
ROOZENGAARDE
- Ticket Price: Online: weekday $15, weekend $17, In-Person: weekday $17, weekend $18
- Hours: Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. -7 p.m., Saturday & Sunday: 8 a.m.- 7 p.m.
TULIP TOWN
- Ticket Price: Online: $15, In-Person: $20
- Hours: Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Friday-Sunday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
GARDEN ROSALYN
- Ticket Price: $15
- Hours: Monday – Sunday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
TULIP VALLEY FARMS
- Ticket Price: Online: $13.50, In-Person: $19.50
- Hours: Monday-Sunday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday – Saturday: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. for Night Bloom
Back at Tulip Valley, the bloom is already at 25%. Peak bloom is expected mid-month, and the forecast for the coming weeks is cooperating, so far.
"I feel like the stars are aligning and the universe is shining down on us, at least this weekend, and hopefully this whole bloom season," said Miller.
WATCH: Tulip Festival from the air