Ottawa 
You can look forward to the traditional Victoria Day weekend fireworks in Ottawa as Canada’s largest tulip festival returns this year to celebrate its platinum jubilee year.
Canadian Tulip Festival
Ottawa’s award-winning flagship festival since 1953, the Canadian Tulip Festival is one of the largest events of its kind in the world celebrating Ottawa’s official flower as a symbol of international friendship and peace. The Canadian Tulip Festival is an event of the Canadian Tulip Legacy, a non-profit charitable organization established to celebrate the historic Royal gift of tulips from the Dutch to Canadians after World War II.
The festival celebrations were online in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
Every year more than 300,000 tulips blooms on the shores of Dow’s Lake in Ottawa and this year, visitors to Ottawa will be able to enjoy a blacklight garden display along Dow’s Lake Boardwalk at night just like “pollinators see them in UV light.”
This year, there will be movies every evening at Dow’s Lake and a unique walking tour entitled “Ghosts in the Glebe” which will tell the story of martys who grew up right beside the festival site. Ghosts in the Glebe tour will cover over twenty breeds of tulips entwined with truly touching moments from the past and is set across several important gardens including the Queen Juliana Gift Bed and the Platinum Jubilee Bed.
The festival site is free while fees apply for the guided tour.
This year, parking will not be available at Dow’s Lake due to The Ottawa Hospital’s new Civic Campus development. Visitors are encouraged to use public transit or park at parking lots near Dow’s Lake. There will be a “Tulip Trolley” shuttle service which will run from Ottawa’s downtown core, with stops at the Westin Ottawa, the National Gallery of Canada, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, and the Lord Elgin Hotel, ending at Commissioner’s Park.
OC Transpo is also available via O-Train and bus stopping at Carling & Preston.
Canadian Tulip Festival
Canadian Tulip Festival
Experience the beauty and meaning behind the Gift of Tulips from the grateful Netherlands to all Canadians with free historical and horticultural displays across Ottawa.
When: May 13 through 23, 2022
Where: Commissioners Park – Dow’s Lake
and
Ottawa’s public gardens
How Much: Mostly free.
