Bellingham in Whatcom County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)
Bellingham bloomed during its Tulip Festival in the 1920s
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 21, 2021
1. Bellingham bloomed during its Tulip Festival in the 1920s Marker
Inscription.
Bellingham bloomed during its Tulip Festival in the 1920s. . Throughout the 1920s, the first week of May saw Bellingham transformed into "Tulip Town" as the city hosted its perennial Tulip Festival. Businesses competitively decorated the downtown streets and buildings, festooning them with bunting and "Welcome to Tulip Town" banners. A neighborhood campaign typically planted over 100,000 tulip bulbs each year.
The Tulip Festival attracted up to 60,000 visitors during its three-day run. Events included a Tulip Queen coronation, carnival, flower shows, tulip-field tours, baseball games, concerts, a Tulip Song contest, fireworks and an athletic pageant put on by the city's school children at Battersby Field.
The festival's highlight was a lavish Tulip Parade, over two miles in length, comprised of over 100 tulip-adorned floats, as well as marching bands and decorated cars. An "electrified night parade" was added in 1922 and a kid's parade in 1924.
Bellingham could no longer afford the extravagant festival following the stock market crash in 1929. After World War II, a new festival known as "Blossom Time" would recapture much of the pageantry and splendor of the Tulip Festival. Started in 1947, Blossom Time, like the Tulip Festival, had a contest for queen, grand and junior parades, and a carnival. The festival's focus and name were changed to Ski to Sea in 1973, following introduction of a race from Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay. ,
Throughout the 1920s, the first week of May saw Bellingham transformed into "Tulip Town" as the city hosted its perennial Tulip Festival. Businesses competitively decorated the downtown streets and buildings, festooning them with bunting and "Welcome to Tulip Town" banners. A neighborhood campaign typically planted over 100,000 tulip bulbs each year.
The Tulip Festival attracted up to 60,000 visitors during its three-day run. Events included a Tulip Queen coronation, carnival, flower shows, tulip-field tours, baseball games, concerts, a Tulip Song contest, fireworks and an athletic pageant put on by the city's school children at Battersby Field.
The festival's highlight was a lavish Tulip Parade, over two miles in length, comprised of over 100 tulip-adorned floats, as well as marching bands and decorated cars. An "electrified night parade" was added in 1922 and a kid's parade in 1924.
Bellingham could no longer afford the extravagant festival following the stock market crash in 1929. After World War II, a new festival known as "Blossom Time" would recapture much of the pageantry and splendor of the Tulip Festival. Started in 1947, Blossom Time, like the Tulip Festival, had a contest for queen, grand and junior parades, and a carnival. The festival's focus and name were changed to Ski to Sea in 1973, following introduction of a race from Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay.
48° 45.014′ N, 122° 28.722′ W. Marker is in Bellingham, Washington, in Whatcom County. Marker is on Cornwall Avenue north of East Holly Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1311 Cornwall Avenue, Bellingham WA 98225, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The other side of the panel for this marker is the "Bellingham grew up along its streetcar lines" marker.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 21, 2021
2. Bellingham bloomed... Marker - wide view, looking north
courtesy of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art, 1922
3. Marker inset: The Tulip Parade...
The Tulip Parade passed in opposite directions simultaneously on a stretch of Cornwall Avenue, seen here in 1922.
Clyde Banks, courtesy of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art, 1927
4. Marker inset: Whatcom High School's tiger lily float...
Whatcom High School's tiger lily float at Holly and Cornwall, during the 1927 Tulip Parade.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 226 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 23, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
