Canada’s largest tulip festival is in Ontario & here’s when it returns

Stop and smell the spring tulips at Canada’s largest tulip festival, coming back to the country’s capital this May.

Beginning May 12 to May 22, 2023, The Candian Tulip Festival will kick off in Ottawa’s Commissioners Park where Canadians can feast their eyes on stunning displays of blooming tulips.

The annual event features 300,000 tulips gifted from the Netherlands, that trail over a kilometer of parkland on the shores of Dow’s Lake in Ottawa, according to the event.

The festival is absolutely free but if you work up an appetite, there will be food trucks to discover and a tulip boutique on-site.

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There are several activities you can take part in too, which come at an extra cost. Enjoy a Tulip Legacy Walking tour, or for something a little more chilling, sign up for the Ghosts of the Glebe walking tour.

It is described as a “hauntingly beautiful” experience set across several important gardens. During the tour, you’ll get to see twenty breeds of tulips while you listen to a touching true story about several servicemen who “paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

You can also stroll the lit garden beds at night and see tulips in a whole new and beautiful way. And every night, the Sound and Light Show will take place by Dow’s Lake, creating a “stunning spectacle” on the waves. It’s free and only runs for about 10 minutes.

For more information on all the events, like the Movies & Tulips line up, click here.

And as for the final day of the festival, it will be commemorated with a grand finale fireworks show, so if you plan to visit, be sure to stick around ’til the end.

The Canadian Tulip Festival

When: May 12 to May 22, 2023
Where: Ottawa Commissioners Park