It was only recently that I heard about the tulip festival at the Holland Ridge Farms,. Apparently, it is right here in the Garden State, which is convenient.
How had I never heard about this before?
Yet, I hadn't. But the pictures made it look similar to images and pictures of fields of tulips with windmills visible in the background somewhere in the Netherlands. I looked at the dates, knowing that tulips only really grow in spring. The festival had to end soon.
Sure enough, it would end soon.
So I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to visit it during our mutual day off on Friday. That would make it April 24th. She was up for it. Then I bought the tickets. On a beautiful and sunny afternoon on Friday, we paid our visit.
Now, my girlfriend has been having some pains in her foot lately. So while we went, she had to stay at the periphery, near the picnic area by the main building. She got some distant views of the windmill, but the tulips were right there. So she got to enjoy the flowers and relaxed, stayed off her feet.
Meanwhile, I explored, visited the windmill and went around the fields of tulips. The farm does serve as a reminder that there were days, long ago, when New Jersey was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland (Nieuw Nederland). The family is apparently Dutch, and I assume that it has been in the family for a long time. Whether or not it goes all the way back to the days when this was a Dutch colony, I cannot say. However, they do try and lend this place as much of an authentic Dutch feel as possible. Indeed, it does feel as close to a legitimate Dutch tulip festival as you are apt to find on this side of the Atlantic.
Clearly, the most iconic site on the farm is the windmill. It is not as old as the ones in the Netherlands, which clearly served as the model for this one. Nevertheless, it is a fully functioning windmill. You can go inside and explore the machinery and learn a bit more about windmills. Quite interesting.
Plus, it really is a beautiful place. Tulips really are a treasure of the springtime. And there were more tulips here, I believe, than anywhere else I personally have visited, with the possible exception of the tulip festival in Ottawa, which I had the pleasure of visiting once. Even then, I am not entirely certain that there were not more here in this place.
They had oversized wooden shoes everywhere, with some being decorative and large enough for people to sit in and get their picture taken. There were old looking bikes serving as decorations throughout the garden, serving both as a reminder of the prevalence of bicycles in the Netherlands, as well as adding something aesthetically. There are some Dutch flags and signs, as well as some other decorations to enhance the charming, fairy tale feel of the place. Plenty of activities for the kids, and some food vendors which offered some Dutch foods.
All in all, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
Below are some of the pictures from the visit.
Enjoy.
