Michigan’s Tulip Time Festival Has A Lesser Known Spring Tradition

This is how you know spring has arrived in Michigan and it's here to stay: the 97th Annual Tulip Time Festival returns to Holland, MI beginning Friday, May 1, 2026.

Known as the “Tulip City,” each spring the small town of about 35,000 residents is transformed into a colorful landscape of blooming tulips that draws visitors from around the world.

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Local biology teacher Lida Rogers originally proposed the idea in 1927 as a nod to the town's namesake and strong Dutch roots. By 1929, the first tulip bulbs were in bloom. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the annual flower festival gained widespread popularity and grew into the renowned event it is today, drawing an estimated 500,000 visitors each year to see more than 6 million tulips in bloom.

But what happens to all those millions of tulip bulbs after the festival ends?

Each year local non-profit Holland in Bloom hosts the annual Tulip Dig in which the general public is invited to dig up tulip bulbs from the festival grounds for only $10 per 5-gallon bucket. 

According to the group's Facebook page, this year's Tulip Dig will take place on Saturday, May 30 beginning at 9:00 a.m.:

Participants will be able to go to one of TWO City parks - Centennial Park...and Windmill Island Gardens...Choose your park, pay, get your bucket tagged, pick your spot, and dig. All necessary supplies, including the bucket, digging tools, gardening gloves must be supplied by the participants. Cash ONLY will be accepted.

The 2026 Tulip Time Festival runs May 1-10, 2026. Check out a daily schedule of events here.