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For the first time in three years, the stars of the Tulip Festival bloomed in early April,

highlighting a beautiful season which ran through early May. Hundreds of thousands of

visitors came to the Valley, taking home memories and

leaving their dollars behind. They came from eight Canadian

provinces, every state, and 95 other countries! Our busiest

day was Easter Sunday when over 1300 came through our

door, leading to a weekend total of over 2500.

None of this would have been possible without the strong

financial and emotional support of our sponsors who help

make Skagit Valley a better place to live, work, and

play…thank you!

As usual, we received excellent media coverage from the Skagit Valley Herald and the

Seattle Times, as well as other publications in Western Washington. The Festival was

featured in the Spokane Spokesman-Review in Eastern Washington, and in a variety of

websites, including “Red Tricycle” (geared toward family-friendly travel), “Garden

Destinations,” (for gardening enthusiasts), and “World Love Flowers,” whose title is

rather self-explanatory, and more.

In late-April, a Festival visitor posted a “Rant and

Rave” at the Seattle Times. Members of our staff

were interviewed on KAFE-FM in Bellingham,

KSVR-FM in Mount Vernon, and Executive

Director Cindy Verge was a guest twice on station

KRKO-AM in Everett.

We had television crews from all four major

Seattle television stations visit and help us spread

the word about our blooms. KING 5 routinely

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reported on the state of the

bloom most mornings in mid

to late April, in particular.

SCRAPS, a new A & E show

about cooking with what

might otherwise be waste,

filmed in the tulip fields, with

the show scheduled to be

aired in the summer of 2017.

We’re thankful for Skagit Publishing, an Official Sponsor, continuing to support us by

hosting and maintaining our official website, www.tulipfestival.org. Activity on our

website remains strong, with 443,375 unique users generating just over 1.6 million page

views in the past year. About two-thirds of our visitors are first-timers and they visit

almost three pages. Use of a mobile device continues to increase, accounting for over

70% of the traffic.

The increased use of mobile devices encouraged us to develop, with help from Skagit

Publishing, an interactive map page, with points linking users to locations, hours, and

websites of some of our

sponsors. Our friends at

Frontier

Communications sponsor

the interactive map,

recognizing the need for

more user-friendly

website pages.

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Facebook exposure continues to

grow, with over 53,000 followers

of our page. We use the page

throughout the year to welcome

new sponsors, share information

about events in the Skagit

Valley, and keep our friends

informed about the flower

fields. During the Festival, we’re busiest, of course, as fans post pictures, respond to our

posts, and generally stay in touch with the Festival. Particularly popular this year were

our almost daily updates on how the blooms were doing and travel tips. Our most

popular post, with 37,478 views was on April 16: “Just announced for April 16: Tulip

Town will be open until 6 pm; RoozenGaarde open until 7 pm, so if you are still on your

way there, you have plenty of time to see tulips! Go to your favorite garden and then

drive around and see the fields!” These posts prompted an end-of-the Festival

comment on our page: “Thank you so much for the constant updates! You don't know

just how helpful it turned out to be!! 🌷 🌷 🌷 🌷 ”

Of course, planning a local

festival with an international

reputation takes a lot of

organization and work. The

festivities officially begin in

November, at our annual

Unveiling Celebration sponsored

by our good friends at Heritage

Bank. The Unveiling, which

takes place at Skagit Valley Gardens in Mount Vernon, is the first opportunity to see the

new poster and products for the upcoming Festival. The 2017 poster featured the art

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work of Bellingham artist Trish

Harding and was well received by

the close to 300 guests. Working

with Skagit County Chambers of

Commerce, we were happy to

include this as a county-wide

“After Hours Event.”

At our popular “Taste of Skagit,”

which takes place during our Unveiling Celebration, guests feasted on treats from great

restaurants (and sponsors) Max Dale’s Steak & Chop House, Swinomish Casino & Lodge,

Big Scoop Sundae Palace, Skagit River Brewery, and our most recent addition, Olive

Garden.

Guests also got to

sample the 2017 Official

Beer from Anacortes

Brewery & Rockfish Grill;

wine from Pasek Cellars

Winery; coffee from

Fidalgo Bay Coffee

Roasters; chocolate from

Forte Artisan Chocolates;

and cider from Tulip Valley Vineyard. The beautiful jewelry from Warren Jewelers was

also on display while our 2017 apparel from Bergsma Galleries was modeled by high

school cheerleaders. Guests got the chance to see other merchandise up close, as well.

With the Unveiling behind us, the staff turned its attention to the Official Skagit Valley

Tulip Festival brochure, delivered to the printer in December and distributed beginning

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in mid-January. The 200,000 copies feature the graphic work of Guy Corp from

grafixCORP in Mount Vernon and went in the mail to over 2000 tulip fans around the

world and delivered to sponsors in

January. About 85,000 were

distributed from Tacoma to Metro

Vancouver, British Columbia as

well as on Washington State

Ferries. The brochures are popular

from January through late summer

as they’re full of information about

local activities, lodging, and restaurants. The centerfold map is especially handy.

On February 9, the place to be was Cascade Mall, site of our annual Tulip Festival

Ambassador program sponsored by KeyBank. Prior to the program, Festival staff visited

dozens of classrooms throughout Skagit County, meeting hundreds of fourth and fifth

grade students as they outlined the process of being named Ambassador. Some 75

students took us up on the offer and as the judges considered their choices, the

contestants ran down the hall

to spend some time at the

Children’s Museum of Skagit

County. Finally, it was

announced that fourth-

grader Ethan Petrick (Lincoln

Elementary) and fifth-grader

Savanah Garcia (Jefferson

Elementary) would represent

us as 2017 Ambassadors.

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As has become a tradition, their first appearance was the following morning, being

interviewed on local radio stations KAPS and KBRC and, of course, they saw their

pictures in the Skagit Valley Herald

shortly after. They enjoyed a

behind-the-scenes tour at

RoozenGaarde/Washington Bulb

Company and greeted visitors at

Tulip Town’s Locals Night in April.

They also greeted visitors at the

PACCAR Open House, rode in the

US Bank/Kiwanis “Not-so-

Impromptu” Parade in La Conner, helped at the Opening Gala, and Woodfest. They

made a trip to Olympia to meet with Governor Jay Inslee and our local representatives.

To round out a busy spring, in late May the Ambassadors and their families enjoyed a

“behind the seams” tour of Safeco Field and a ball game, thanks to the Seattle Mariners

and took part in the Burlington Berry Dairy Days in June. Our Ambassadors and their

families work hard to share the good news

of the Festival and we’re so grateful.

Because we enjoy supporting our

community, the Festival had a booth at the

SICBA Home and Garden Show the last

weekend in March. In addition to

distributing lots of brochures to attendees,

we sold some of our 2017 merchandise and made some new friends.

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On March 30, we were happy to welcome over 250 guests to our Opening Gala, held at

the Swinomish Casino and Resort in Anacortes, sponsored by our friends at Judd & Black

Appliance and Peoples Bank. The excellent food and company was enjoyed by all, as

was our

entertainment this

year, provided by

local performing artist

Chris Eger. Dozens of

local businesses

helped us out by

donating items for

our popular raffle, as

well.

The Director’s Award is an annual award presented to those who go beyond

expectations to serve the mission of the Festival. This year Cindy was pleased to present

the award to Don Danielson of Skagit Publishing, for his extraordinary work redesigning

our new website and getting the interactive map up and running.

The 24th Annual Skagit County Parks

and Recreation Tulip Basketball

Tournament, involving dozens of

teams of fourth through eighth grade

girls and boys. The late March event

was a boon for our local lodging

sponsors as teams came from

throughout the Northwest, with

parents in tow!

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The Festival began in earnest on April 1, which was the first day fans could enter photos

in our fifth annual Columbia Bank Photo Contest. Our judges sorted through close to

350 entries to select our winners.

Our friends at the Burlington branch

of Columbia Bank held a reception

in to honor the winners in early

May. Each winner received a framed

print of their entry and a signed and

framed 2017 Festival poster. In

addition, the attendees selected a

“People’s Choice” from the

runners—up photos.

The start of April also brought the

opening of seven art shows

throughout the County and the start

of the Kiwanis Salmon BBQ, which

ran through April 23. Kiwanians

served over 11,000 meals, utilizing

almost 5000 pounds of grilled salmon and almost 13,000 baked potatoes! Thanks to

hundreds of volunteer shifts involving volunteers from La Conner, Oak Harbor,

Stanwood/Camano, and Mount Vernon Kiwanis clubs, some $72,000 will be distributed

by way of scholarships, car seats, donations to Boys and Girls Club, and many other

worthwhile non-profits in our area. The Mount Vernon Parks Department received

$15,000 toward the Kiwanis 25th Street Park alone.

The U.S. Bank “Not-so-Impromptu” Parade, always a hit, was led by our very own

Marinus Rouw as Grand Marshal on April 8. He preceded 26 entries in the parade

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through the streets of

La Conner, where

business was booming!

The parade enjoys

great support from the

Kiwanians of La Conner,

both in the planning

and in the presentation

of the annual event.

Earlier in the day, many

parade goers and others visited the annual PACCAR Open House, the only day each year

the facility is open to the public. That second weekend in April also found lots to do in

Anacortes, with the start of a weeklong “Art in Bloom” Fine Art Exhibition sponsored by

the Anacortes Arts Festival, plus wine-tasting. Not to be out done, that Saturday, saw

over 300 runners take part in the 32nd annual Tulip Run near the Skagit Regional Airport.

Residents of Skagit County took a break on April 14 as several thousand took advantage

of Locals Night, a way for the good folks at Tulip Town to thank the community for their

patience during the busy Festival. In addition to touring the fields, visitors danced to a

combo, enjoyed

visiting the gift

shop, were

refreshed with

coffee and wine,

and took full

advantage of

being part of our

gorgeous

community.

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Our third weekend is traditionally a busy one and this year was no different, with varied

events to entertain our visitors. The Mount Vernon Downtown Street Fair was back for

its 33rd year, as

crowds enjoyed the

great spring

weather to visit one

of the finest juried

arts and crafts

shows in Western

Washington.

Intrepid souls

enjoyed the “Do the Bloom” Color Run in Anacortes, sponsored by the Anacortes Arts

Festival, while others took part in the 35th Tulip Pedal, sponsored by SafeKids. The

Friends of the Mount Vernon Library held their semi-annual Used Book Sale that

weekend as well. A new event for the Festival was the “O Canada Heritage Weekend,”

sponsored by the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society recognizing the sesquicentennial of

our neighbors to the north.

With financial

support from our

friends at COUNTRY

Financial we held our

second Tulip Charm

Princess Party with

the help of Cascade

Mall. Some 75

princesses enjoyed a

lovely time with

either Rapunzel or

Beauty on the final

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Sunday of April. Also on the final Sunday of the

Festival was Bethany Covenant’s popular “Psalms,

Hymns, and Spiritual Concert” at their church in

Mount Vernon.

As a reminder that our local festival has an

international reputation, we’re pleased to share

that we earned the Gold Pinnacle Award from the

International Festival and Events Association for

our 2016 poster at the annual convention in

Tucson. This was our fifth year in a row and eighth

overall to achieve this distinction awarded by our

peers.

The Festival truly is an endeavor undertaken by people throughout the county and,

indeed, throughout Western Washington. Although we rely heavily on our good

sponsors, we also count on hours and hours of support from our volunteers. During

April, we

saw 28

Festival

volunteers

donate some

500 hours,

plus several

hours

donated by

local high

school

students and

staff at

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Fortiphi, one of our newer sponsors. Our sponsorship program enjoys wonderful moral

and financial support from Creekside Continuing Care Community in Burlington and has

for several years.

We were grateful to Madeline Cavanaugh, Betty Bastai, and John Drummond, each of

whom served internships with us. Betty, a student at Skagit Valley College, designed the

program and invitation for and produced a video of the KeyBank Tulip Ambassador

Event. She also

designed the gala

invitation. John, also

at SVC, helped in the

office and with some

events. Madeline, a

senior at Evergreen

State College, spent

several hundred

hours with us, taking pictures (chronicling the progress of the tulip fields from snow to

blooming), helping with events, assisting with the office, and filling many roles from

January through the end of the Festival.

We continually strive to

improve the Festival,

trying our best to make

this year’s Festival better

than last. Thanks to our

growers for continually

working hard year-round

to produce the

incomparable gorgeous fields enjoyed by so many. Thanks to each of our sponsors for

trusting us to make your commitment to us one of which you can be proud.

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Mark your calendar for

November 14, 2017

when we’ll enjoy the

Unveiling Celebration of

our 2018 merchandise

at Skagit Valley

Gardens, sponsored by

Heritage Bank, and kick

off our 35th Skagit Valley

Tulip Festival!

Photo Credits (in order of appearance):

Pam Headridge Columbia Bank Photo Contest Cover

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Megan Ching, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Anthony Kuempel Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Rebecca Murray, Skagit Media Marketing

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Rebecca Murray, Skagit Media Marketing

Ryan Brown, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (4)

Susan Penwell, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Carolyn Ford, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

US Bank

Kim Currier, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Elizabeth Shore, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Christina Martin, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Diana Lee, Columbia Bank Photo Contest

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (2)

Angie Gormley, Columbia Bank Photo Contest