Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the destination events for the Pacific Northwest, held from April 1-30. Every spring hundreds of thousands of people come to enjoy the celebration of spring as millions of tulips burst into bloom. As with all things governed by Mother Nature, the tulips bloom according to their own schedule sometime during the festival. The tulips allow us to share our corner of the world and showcase Skagit Valley agriculture.  Our festival is designed as a driving tour for the visitor as there is no one "site" that you go to for your visit. This is because the farmers in our valley raise tulips as an agricultural crop and the 100s of acres of blooming flowers are scattered throughout the Skagit Valley. In addition to the flowers, festival visitors enjoy taking in one of the many events and activities that happen only during April. These too are scattered throughout the Skagit Valley.  As the festival continues on its journey – now for 30 years – we welcome people from across the United States and from around the world. The beauty of the flowers truly transcends differences, bringing cultures, ages and diverse lifestyles together to marvel at nature's creation. In 2012 we were proud to greet visitors from all 49 states (somehow Mississippi did not get recorded) and from 53 foreign countries.  The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was officially inaugurated in 1984 by the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce. Chamber directors Jerry Diggerness and Joan Houchen saw that people were coming by the thousands to view the tulips and, through a retreat, decided to add events and festivities to enhance the visitors’ trip to the Skagit Valley. In 1994 the Tulip Festival broke off from the Chamber of Commerce and became an entity of its own.  From humble beginnings, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival grew. It moved from 3 days to 10, then 17 and now, for the past 5+ years, to 30 days. The expansion to 30 days was to ensure that the huge fields of tulips grown in Skagit Valley would actually bloom sometime during the festival, since a shorter festival sometime missed the blooming of the fields.  Today the festival boasts an amazing assortment of events -- art shows, gala celebrations, concerts, tours of local shellfish and cheese operations and an open house at PACCAR. Two signature events have grown along with the festival --the Downtown Mount Vernon Street Fair and the Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue – fundraisers for both organizations that have proven highly successful. There are lots of physical activities associated with the festival as well – a run, 20- 40- and 60-mile bike rides, and a youth basketball tournament.