May is one of my favourite months, if not my MOST favourite month, of the year. It always seems like May is the month that spring truly arrives in Ottawa, and we can finally put away the winter coats and mitts with confidence. Ottawa’s annual Tulip Festival is a big reason why May is such a wonderful month to be in Ottawa. Every year I make a point of visiting the tulip displays around the city at least once. This year the Canadian Tulip Festival runs from May 11-21, so mark it on your calendars. It is coming up fast!

Dow’s Lake and Commissioner’s Park

The best place to visit the impressive tulip beds is at Commissioner’s Park alongside Dow’s Lake. It is a free one kilometre explosion of more than 250 000 gorgeous blooms. On the weekends you can expect it to be busy, and you may have difficulty finding parking – but I promise you, the effort will be worth it.

Spend some time strolling through the tulips and be sure to take some photos. You are bound to get at least a few good ones with your kids actually smiling and with their eyes open!

You can also enjoy live musical entertainment; watch artists at work among the tulip beds; and take part in a guided tour offering information about the different tulips and the Festival.

There are also plenty of food trucks and snacking spots throughout Commissioner’s Park. So you can promise the kids an ice cold lemonade or yummy ice cream if they agree to pose nicely for a photo or two. For my kids an ice cream cone equals one photo of them not sticking out their tongues. Yes…I use bribes.

This year I am determined to make it out to the Tulip Festival fireworks on May 20th. My kids are still a little young to stay up for the later fireworks on celebrations like Canada Day, but the Victoria Long Weekend fireworks at Dow’s Lake are perfect – they happen at 8:00 pm!

Anyone planning to attend the fireworks is encouraged to bring along a blanket, get comfy and prepare to be amazed at the light show. You can buy tickets to sit in a particular marked off area, the tickets include a ‘tulip julep’ cocktail, and can be purchased HERE .

But I think our family will probably just sit somewhere else on our own blanket…maybe forgo the cocktails this time (or bring our own 🙂

I can’t wait! I just hope the weather cooperates.

There are a number of other locations around Ottawa where you can enjoy the tulips and Tulip Festival related activities:

Lansdowne Park

Explore Canadian handmade and international tulip art, photography and floral installations, onsite workshops, special film screenings, cultural displays, international stage performances as well as children’s activities

Garden Promenade

Explore tulips across the Capital when visiting Ottawa/Gatineau’s area gardens, and participate in Festival partner activities such as photography workshops, viewing the vintage auto parade, walking the Tulip Trail, cycling the Promenade and enjoying culinary events.

Byward Market

Tiptoe through a garden of urban tulip art, promotions and activities created and curated by an annually appointed Featured Canadian Artist who also has had the distinction of creating this year’s Festival theme imagery – “A World of Tulips”.