A total of 80,000 tulips illuminated San Francisco's Union Square last Friday, March, where American Tulip Day took place for the fourth time. The Mayor of San Francisco, London N. Breed, and the President of Royal Anthos, Henk Westerhof, opened the event, and this year, the Mayor baptized a tulip named after her.
Large interest
Again the interest was huge. The day started off rainy, but it did not withhold people from queuing up and waiting up to two hours to pick their own bunch of tulips. The police estimated that there were 30-35,000 people. "So in the end, there were not enough tulips for everyone," says Erik Lommerse from Dutch export company Nord Lommerse Flower Bulb Group, a member of event organizer Royal Anthos.
In honor of International Women's Day
The event is in honor of International Women's Day, which takes place on March 8. "The public is invited to come and pick a free bouquet of tulips for themselves or as a gift to a woman who has inspired them this past year. And on top of that, it gives American households a feeling of early spring."
American-grown from Dutch bulbs
Flower Bulb Day brings both European starting material and local production under the attention: the bulbs are Dutch and are grown in California by local grower Sun Valley.
American Tulip Day
American Tulip Day 2023 is presented by Royal Anthos with support from San Francisco Recreation and Parks, the Union Square Business Improvement District, Netherlands Consulate, and Denkers Shipping BV. The first edition took place in 2018, and in 2021, when the event was canceled due to the pandemic, they gave away 25,000 tulips to women on the front lines, doctors, nurses, etc.
Below are more pictures of the day:
Preparations:
Interest before and during the event
For more information:
Flower Bulb Day
https://flowerbulbday.com/