HOLLAND — There’s nothing quite like a festival or fair to bring together members of the community and visitors for a few days of themed, family fun.
From the world renowned Tulip Time Festival to the Ottawa County Fair and Allegan County Fair (and everything in between), there are plenty of annual events to enjoy near Holland.
But which event are Hollanders most eager to circle on their calendars?
The answer was surprising. With 101 more votes than Tulip Time, Holland’s Celtic Fest took home the title, garnering a total of 58.72% of the vote.
The Holland Waterfront Celtic Festival and Highland Games returns to the Ottawa County Fairgrounds on Friday-Saturday, June 20-21. There’ll be live bands, dancers, fiddlers, retailers and food vendors, and the ever-popular Highland Games, which includes “all nine ancient athletic games, with men’s and women’s divisions,” according to the event’s official website.
Several practice sessions for newcomers “and experienced throwers” are ongoing in April.
It’s a big win for a festival that began in 2022 at Riverview Park in downtown Holland. It was co-founded in 2021 by Craig Rich and Peter Grimm. Learn more at hollandcelticfestival.org.
More: When are Holland’s major 2025 events? Here’s a calendar.
Now, how about Tulip Time, which returns May 2? The festival came in second place, earning 22.78% of the vote. With just weeks until the tulips bloom, The Sentinel spoke with Tulip Time Executive Director Gwen Auwerda about the flowers, other preparations and a potential boost from Hollywood.
“Lots of behind-the-scenes things are happening that most people don’t know about or think about, but that’s the work we’re doing now to get ready for the tulips to bloom and 600,000 people to embark upon our city,” Auwerda said.
Fortunately, the weather has been perfect for tulip growth.
“This cool weather has been wonderful for the tulips,” Auwerda said. “Not having warm weather in February is great, (as is) having it still be cool at night, the sun out during the day, a couple warm days so far. We’ve had some rain, which the tulips like. We’re really on-track for a fabulous bloom the week of the festival.”
Other nominees that received votes included:
— Cassandra Lybrink is the local editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at clybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Results: Hollanders have a favorite festival — and it isn’t Tulip Time
Reporting by Cassandra Lybrink, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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