Did you know the world’s largest tulip festival happens right here in Ontario? Yep, the Canadian Tulip Festival is back for another year, aka 11 days of the season’s most gorgeous blooms in celebration of their historic tie to Canada’s capital.

This year, the festivities will run from May 9 to 19, 2025, just over a week away.


According to the Canadian Tulip Festival, it was established to “celebrate the historic Royal gift of tulips from the Dutch to Canadians immediately following the Second World War as a symbol of international friendship.”

“The Festival preserves the memorable role of the Canadian troops in the liberation of the Netherlands and Europe, as well as commemorates the birth of Dutch Princess Margriet in Ottawa during World War II — the only royal personage ever born in Canada.”

The fest is held at Ottawa’s Commissioners Park and features over 300,000 tulips along the Rideau Canal’s Dow’s Lake.

Some of the festival highlights include:

  • A tulip market with tulip bulbs, cut tulips, and other “unique tulip-themed items, including woodwork, metalwork, candles, and knitted goods.”
  • A play zone
  • Movies in the park
  • Food trucks
  • A tulip trail

Admission to the festival is free, and if you’re travelling from out of town, everything you need to know about parking can be found on the festival website.

Will you be attending the Canadian Tulip Festival? 💐

Canadian Tulip Festival

When: May 9 to 19, 2025
Where: Commissioners Park — Preston St. and Queen Elizabeth Dr., Ottawa, Ont.
Cost: Free

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Taylor Lucas

Associate Editor – Taylor is a Toronto-based journalist with a passion for storytelling. Whether chasing a story, writing, or editing, she brings a creative spin to the media world and has a blast doing it. Taylor brings years of journalism experience in sports, local/national news, and entertainment. In her spare time, you can typically find Taylor trying out a new restaurant or cocktail bar, cooking, golfing or binge-watching true crime documentaries.

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