Tulip Festival pops open Monday

It’s no joke: the 35th annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival runs the month of April. Expect to see folks on greater La Conner roads this weekend. They will be fooled: only daffodils are now in bloom.

Started as a three-day festival in 1984, it has grown to 10, then 17 days and, for more than five years, into a 30-day event.

The activities are many and assorted: art shows, gala celebrations, concerts, tours of local shellfish and cheese operations and an open house at PACCAR. The Downtown Mount Vernon Street Fair and the Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue are signature fundraiser for each organization. You...