Get ready to tiptoe through millions of tulips and be amazed by all the colour in the country at BLOOM - The Abbotsford Tulip Festival. Located just an hour outside of Vancouver, BLOOM is the ultimate springtime experience offering visitors a chance to marvel at 10 acres of rainbow-coloured fields and enjoy some wholesome springtime fun. The festival is scheduled to run from April 10th to May 7th, daily from 9:00 am to dusk, but visitors are strongly encouraged to visit the website to check for changes due to inclement weather.
After a successful debut year in 2016 that attracted close to 100,000 vistors, BLOOM has gained international attention and has since been designated as a Canada 150 Garden Experience, making this outdoor festival a must-see attraction. With over 2.5 million tulips, visitors get a chance to marvel and walk through acres of fields and take in a vivid display of beauty. This year, BLOOM is debuting a new line of rare and unique tulip varieties, including the limited edition “Canada 150” tulip, as well as the “Sun Lover”, “Miranda”, “Ice Cream” and a unique black variety called “The Queen of the Night”.
BLOOM - The Abbotsford Tulip Festival was founded by Alexis Warmerdam, a passionate third-generation Canadian tulip farmer and fourth generation bulb grower with Lakeland Flowers, and a strong advocate for young B.C. farmers. Born in 1989 and raised in Abbotsford, Alexis developed her passion for farming at a young age. She grew up playing in the flower fields on the family farm her Dutch immigrant grandparents founded in 1974. It was Alexis’ grandfather and father who helped to cultivate Alexis’ farming skills and deep appreciation for Dutch horticultural methods. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Alexis came up with the idea for BLOOM - The Abbotsford Tulip Festival where locals and tourists alike could stroll through our tulip fields and enjoy the breathtaking display of color, along with other eye-catching activities in the field.
“This journey has been so rewarding for my family and I. To be able to share our love of farming and horticulture, as well as of the land and outdoors has been such a wonderful experience,” said Alexis Warmerdam, founder of BLOOM - The Abbotsford Tulip Festival. “The support from the community has been wonderful and we look forward to making this another spectacular experience for everyone who visits us this year.”
In addition to admiring the stunning tulip fields, visitors can also pick their own spring bouquets in the sprawling u-pick tulip field or purchase pre-picked tulips from the "Bloom-Mobile", an on-site flower shop. The agri-tourism attraction also offers a covered picnic area, food trucks and many family-friendly games and activities. Visitors are encouraged to bring their cameras to capture the stunning fields of flowers while they last and take advantage of the many photo cut-out boards located throughout the grounds. Food trucks are available on weekends and visitors are encouraged to bring their own picnics and use the covered picnic areas while enjoying the great view of both Mount Baker and the tulip fields. BLOOM is also a pet-friendly festival.
Ticket sales for weekends and holidays will be capped and must be purchased in advance at abbotsfordtulipfestival.ca, at a cost of $15 per person. Weekday tickets will still be available at the gate for $8 for general admission (13-64yrs) and $5 for children (3-12yrs), seniors (65+) and groups (20+ people) and parking is included with every ticket. New this year is Locals’ Night, every Tuesday and Thursday for the duration of the festival, from 3:00 PM until dusk. This opportunity is available for Abbotsford residents and their guests at a reduced admission price of just $2 per person with proof of address of at least one guest within the party.
PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE: abbotsfordtulipfestival.ca