Space and Culture

Photo by hswapnil

The annual Tulip Festival began on Friday and runs until May 19th.

In the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. The gift was given in appreciation of the safe haven that members of Holland’s exiled royal family received during the Second World War in Ottawa and in recognition of the role which Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands … In 2002, the Festival celebrated its 50th Anniversary dedicated to its founder, Malak Karsh, having expanded to an event showcasing over 3 million tulips throughout Canada’s Capital Region.

The festival also includes Celebridée, “A Celebration of Ideas,” and this year’s speakers include Salman Rushdie, James Howard Kunstler and Jared Diamond, as well as talks about everything from dark matter to lost gardens.

Photo by andrewomerknapp

UPDATE 07/04/08

Pruned: The Machinic Landscape of Tulips

- Anne