People from all over are dusting off their wooden shoes and getting ready for the biennial Tulip Festival held in Clymer.
The Clymer Tulip Festival began in 1953 when the Clymer Community Club instituted a clean-up day in the interest of community improvement. During that first festival events included street scrubbing, an old Dutch custom, and a small parade that consisted of the high school band, a Community Club float and several Clymer residents dressed in costume.
The Tulip Festival continued to grow every year until it reached its peak in the early 1970s when it brought in everything from carnival rides and country music stars to a large parade full of Klompen dancers and elaborate floats that competed for prizes. During these peak years, the festival drew visitors from all over the world.
Article Photos
The Clymer Tulip Festival, which began in 1953, will be held Friday and Saturday. On average, roughly 1,000 people attend the festival each year for its variety of offerings.
Photo submitted by Laurie Barringer
In 1976 however, the Tulip Festival went on an indefinite hiatus and was not held again until the Young Adults for the Restoration of the Tulip Festival formed in order to resurrect the event. Currently, the Tulip Festival runs every other year, according to Laurie Barringer, part of the committee that puts together the event.
"Attractions include bounce houses, petting zoos, clowns, vendor stands, a craft show, antique tractors, Klein (children) and Groat (adult) Klompen dancers and, of course, the Grand Parade," said Barringer.
On average, Barringer estimates that close to 1,000 people come to the Tulip Festival.
Fact Box
What: Tulip Festival
When: Friday and Saturday
Where: Clymer
Cost: Free
For more info: Find 'Clymer Tulip Festival' on Facebook; call Shelly Schenck at 355-2776.
24 miles from
downtown Jamestown
The 2012 Clymer Tulip Festival will open with the crowning of the 2012 Tulip Queen at the Clymer Central School Student Performance Center on Friday at 8 p.m. Admission to the crowning is free, but donations are encouraged.
"I would encourage folks to attend to see the candidates show off their rendition of a traditional Dutch dance and their individual talents," said Barringer. "Any hunters should be sure to visit the French Creek Outdoors booth for supplies and exciting events, including a raffle. For women, the Dutch Village Restaurant and Neckers Co., which has been a Clymer institution since 1910, will be offering a variety of home decor items and much more. The festival will be closing with an 'Evening of Singing and Laughter' presented by the Clymer Cast & Company held at the CCS Performance Center at 8 p.m. and will feature a number of talented individuals from the Clymer area."
On Thursday before the actual festival kicks off, Clymer will be holding a kinder-parade which will give school children the chance to decorate their bicycles, wagons, trikes and other items and have a parade of their own, weather permitting. This parade will take place at 6:30 p.m. and will start in the CCS parking lot and proceed down Main Street, up Clymer-Sherman Road to Freeman Street and then back to the school parking lot.
Other events that will take place during the festival this year will include the Pirates Gallery Art Show which will be filled with art work from all ages of children, the Wooden Shoe 5K Run/5K Walk, a book sale, the Street Machines Unlimited car show, a tractor pull, an antique tractor show, a Civil War encampment re-enactment, and child identification finger printing sponsored by the Masons, which will be located at the corner of Main and Freeman streets on Saturday morning.
The 2012 Clymer Tulip Festival is free to attend and will run from Friday to Saturday. For more information about the festival, search for "Clymer Tulip Festival" on Facebook or call Shelly Schenck at 355-2776. Events for the festival will be held at several locations in Clymer including the Clymer Central School Student Performance Center and in multiple locations on or near Main Street.