I suspect that many Skagitonians will confess to a conflicted relationship with April’s annual bacchanalia of blooms known as the Tulip Festival — or as I lovingly christened it after first arriving in Mount Vernon nearly eight years ago, “Tulip Mania.”

I get it. Our otherwise bucolic byways here in the Magic Skagit teem with big city rubberneckers. A simple errand downtown can suddenly take on logistical considerations unlike any other time of the year, and may actually require sitting through a couple of traffic light cycles at the intersection of First and Division. Perish the thought!

It’s all relative, of course. Complaining about “the traffic” in Mount Vernon to someone from Seattle is a lot like grousing about “summer humidity” to someone from Houston. Not that this has ever stopped me from doing either. But like the old blues song goes, “You don’t miss your water until your well runs dry.”

And my, how I missed the Tulip Festival last year. My consolation was, of course, that tulips and daffodils are thankfully immune from a novel virus — although they do have their own susceptibilities to disease — and they showed up big time, as they always do.

During my first two years in Mount Vernon I worked for RoozenGaarde at festival time. It was a fun gig. I got to experience the event from pretty much “ground zero,” and as part my new employee orientation I toured the Washington Bulb Company. If you have any doubts as to just how major a player the Skagit Valley is in the global business of flower bulbs, a visit to the Washington Bulb Company will remove them.

More than anything, however, working at RoozenGaarde during the month of April not only provided a daily dose of stoned immaculate beauty, but allowed me the honor of welcoming thousands of folks for whom a visit to the display gardens was a once in a lifetime experience — something they may have spent years fantasizing about. Seriously, if you are a flower garden fanatic, RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town are nothing short of Disneyland and Epcot Center for all things blooming. For one month of the year I was privileged to be a Magic Skagit Ambassador to throngs of tourists from all over the world. It was an opportunity I accepted with pride and a deep sense of responsibility, knowing that the vast majority of the folks I greeted would soon go back to where they came from, laden with selfies and souvenirs, while I was fortunate enough to remain here — traffic be damned!

While covid restrictions will be in place for this year’s Tulip Festival, the fact remains that it’s happening, and I plan to take full advantage of it — just not during the weekends. Given what we experienced in 2020, I would encourage all of you to do the same. The best way to begin falling back in love with the Tulip Festival is with the official Skagit Valley Tulip Festival brochure/festival map. You’ll find hard copies of the brochure in a number of Skagit Valley businesses and organizations, or you can download one from the festival’s website: tulipfestival.org.

Having pored over this year’s Tulip Festival brochure, there are a number of things that I would like to call your attention to:

If you love taking pictures of flowers, even if you don’t fancy yourself a “photographer,” you are invited to submit your works to the Tulip Festival Facebook page for the rest of the world to admire. It may not rise to the 15 minutes of fame that Andy Warhol promised, but hey, you never know. The festival Facebook page has entry details and posts weekly finalists and winning photos. I’ve got a few photos that I plan to submit, although some of the most fantastic tulip photos I’ve ever laid eyes on were taken by Brent Roozen of RoozenGaarde fame.

Although the annual Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue at the Hillcrest Park Lodge has been cancelled for 2021, the Kiwanis website provides info on how you can continue to support the local causes it benefits…and still get something yummy out of the deal: “We will be selling smoked salmon at two locations during the Tulip Festival.  We will be located at the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce office downtown Mount Vernon and also at the Rexville Grocery near the North Fork Bridge (on the way to La Conner) on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in April from 10 – 6.  The smoked salmon is from the same distributor as our salmon BBQ, Barlean’s Fishery in Ferndale.”

As an official Tulip Festival event, the Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue has been raising funds for local youth and charitable work for nearly 70 years. In 2019 the barbecue hosted about 13,000 people at its Hillcrest Lodge venue, and the Kiwanis donated $81,000 — all while giving an adoring public a sweet deal on a great meal.

This year’s official Tulip Festival poster (see photo below the story headline) follows a long and distinguished tradition of iconic Magic Skagit images. Picture a vintage pickup in field of blooms, with farm buildings visible in the gathering twilight as a full moon rises behind the Cascades. That’s right, people, this is where we live…so how do you like us now, Holland? The artist who created the winning poster is Jennifer McGill, and she’ll be signing copies of her work at Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde. See the Tulip Festival website for details.

Along with its namesake blooms, the Tulip Festival celebrates a number of other uniquely Skagit Valley products. There is an official wine (Pasek Cellars), an official beer (Anacortes Brewery/Rockfish Grill), an official coffee (Fidalgo Bay Coffee Roasters), an official chocolate (Forté Chocolates), and an official hard cider (Ragged and Right Cider Project at Farmstead Brewery). In the category of non-edibles you have official jewelry (Warren Jewelers offers some elegant tulip-themed custom pieces), and official candle and bath products — for that special “me time” we all crave during the Tulip Festival (courtesy of Reclamation Candle Company and Coffee Bar).

Most of these brands are well known and admired by me and plenty of other Skagitonians, and a few of them are now added to my “get-to-know-and-report-back” list. There is, however, one other comestible on the official products list that would have landed you in the hoosegow a few years ago. Freya Farm is the source of the Tulip Festival’s “official cannabis.” As we are fond of saying in the Old Country, “No way, dude!” Way…and if I could write Freya Farm’s brochure ad copy, the headline would be, “You’ll never look at tulips the same way again.” This is why I no longer work in advertising, by the way.

When the tulips behave themselves they make their debut by the beginning of April, and with a good stretch of favorable weather they may take us all the way to Mother’s Day in fine style. The secret to Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde’s ability to sustain their blooms for so long has to do with the selective planting of early, mid, and late season bulbs. And just when you bid a tearful farewell to the last of the tulips, you’re gobsmacked by the rhododendron that are ubiquitous throughout the valley.

During this period of awesome display there are a number of Skagit Valley events worth working into your festival itinerary.

Every Friday and Saturday in April: English Tea at Willowbrook Manor

As the Tulip Festival brochure breathlessly proclaims regarding this Sedro-Woolley venue, “A decadent tea experience awaits you at Willowbrook Manor. Enjoy delicious food, quaint gardens, beautiful art, and feel as if you are stepping back in time.” I love tea, I’ll seize any excuse to visit Woolley, and I’m a bit of a throw back at the best of times, so what’s not to like. And frankly, you had me at “decadent.”

April 10: WaFd Bank Tulips on Parade

There are a lot of cool tulip-themed displays going on in the Magic Skagit, and WaFd Bank wants you to see and judge them. There are several ways to do so: 1) tour Skagit Valley towns and vote for your favorite local display; 2) visit local gardens with tulip plantings that you can enjoy from your car (interactive map available) and vote for the one you like best; 3) participate in a Peoples Choice competition to vote on your favorite entries to the April 10 virtual parade. Details are available at the Tulip Festival website under “Events.” And to think that a year ago we all thought “zoom” just meant to move quickly. Those were innocent times.

April 16 – 18: The Annual Downtown Mount Vernon Street Fair

Yes…the annual Downtown Mount Vernon Street Fair is happening this year, albeit with mask requirements and other possible modifications as the days unfold. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying the work of juried artists and craftspeople, hosted by the Mount Vernon Downtown Association (we salute you, MVDA!). Fair food is on the menu, so cancel your lunch plans. It’s downtown Mount Vernon at its finest, my friends.

April 18: Tulip Pedal — 39th Annual Safe Kids Northwest

It’s a family biking event at La Conner Middle School with kids 14 and under free. You register to bike a 20, 40, or 60 mile course…or ride all three if you have Iron Man aspirations.

April 24: “Practically Perfect Craft Party”

If you’ve been looking for some great kid activities during the pandemic, this is for you: a “virtual party” featuring the Enchanting Events character, the Jolly Nanny. Move over, Mary Poppins…we’re talking about a live Facebook crafting event with a tulip theme, designed by A Dash of Adorable (a phrase that has often been used to describe me, with obvious sarcasm). This, however, sounds straight up fun.

As if all of the above weren’t enough to fill your Tulip Festival dance card, you should also be aware that there are on going art shows throughout the month. Christianson Nursery’s historic school house is the eponymous venue for Art in the Schoolhouse, where the Stanwood Camano Arts Guild will be showing “paintings, photography, rustic garden art, stained glass, mixed media, metal sculptures and jewelry.” Nearby, Schuh Farms is hosting Art in a Pickle Barn, a fine art and craft show featuring “an eclectic mix of works” by local artists. And Schuh Farms is always worth a visit, whatever the season. Take home some local produce and a homemade pie for dessert.

The Tulip Festival brochure for 2021 also includes a comprehensive list of places to eat in the Magic Skagit, and it’s reassuring to see so many familiar names after suffering through a pandemic that hammered the hospitality industry. I’ve got some stimulus money to spend on my favorites. My wife’s and my birthdays are in April, so we’re planning a protracted celebration filled with culinary indulgences…after which I’m hoping I can get back to the YMCA weight room. I finally figured out that the number following “covid-“ refers to the average amount of weight gained during the year-long ordeal we’ve been through.

Most of all, however, I’m looking at Tulip Festival 2021 as an opportunity to bid a masked and socially distanced farewell to Our Winter of Discontent. It may be too early to say that we’ve reached the beginning of the end of The Great Pandemic, but it’s safe to say that we’re well past the end of the beginning…and for awhile I think we all wondered when we might be able to say that with any degree of conviction So with that sentiment in mind, I’ll leave the last word to Alice Collingwood, the president of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Board of Directors.

“As you enjoy exploring our beautiful valley, remember to keep your eyes open for wildlife, pull off the road to look at the fields and be sure to bring your sense of wonder, rain gear, sunscreen and camera to capture all the beauty of the Magic Skagit Valley.”

I couldn’t have said it better. Happy Tulip Festival, ya’ll!