Tulip festival has started in Tulip Town

April attracts visitors to the Skagit Valley’s tulip fields. Tulip Town, on Bradshaw Road is ready.

Although the cold weather in March had the potential to stunt growth, Jeannette DeGoede, co-owner of Tulip Town, said that recent rain has brought the tulips to the point of blooming. “Every day is a new day while farming,” DeGoede said.

DeGoede manages Tulip Town with her husband, Anthony.

While some of the fields are not yet in bloom, others show an impressive array of yellow, purple, pink, red and white. DeGoede hopes that tulip-goers will be satisfied with the color and experience.

DeGoede knows people come to Tulip Town to see something special. For Meaghan Schaver, this was just the case.

“I’ve never seen anything before like this,” Schaver said. She is from Idaho and visiting her dad in Everett. This was her first trip to the Skagit.

Visitors are treated to a two-walled mural inside the barn sized visitors center and store. One side of the mural represents the Skagit Valley in bloom The other wall has a scene from Holland, the DeGoede’s ancestral home. Both sides have water, depicting sloughs and canals, and a wide variety of tulips.

Jennifer Bowman, an Anacortes-based artist, created the murals. Starting in 2004, she painted two panels a year on the Skagit side, but had to slow down on the Dutch side due to the depth and detail going into it. She has been working on it since.

Bowman explained that the DeGoedes wanted to have a piece of art that captured the essence of Tulip Town but did not distract from the tulips themselves. “They really love this community,” Bowman said.

With the Tulip Festival entering its second week, DeGoede expects to start seeing some of the generations of families that return to see the tulips. DeGoede estimates 80,000 people a month visit.

DeGoede wants Tulip Town visitors to leave with a sense of wonder and beauty.

Asked about her goals for the season, DeGoede responded, “So customers go ‘wow.’”