Oregon’s Tulip Fest: Blooms, Brats & Wine

It’s the stunned, awestruck expression on their faces that makes Tulip Fest first-timers stand out in the crowd. All around them masses of tulips planted in wide rows stretch across the landscape to either side, unspooling across the rolling fields in ribbons of color. As they gape, for a long moment cell phones and selfies are forgotten. Then wide, giddy smiles break across their faces and the phones come up, ready to capture it all. That’s when you know they’re hooked.

Introducing Oregon’s Tulip Fest

I’ve been hooked since the mid-1980s, when the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm near Woodburn, Oregon, first opened its 40 acres of blooms to the public. Since then, the simple tent selling cut tulips and taking bulb orders has evolved into a festival with flowers, food and entertainment that draws more than 150,000 visitors each year.

There’s no fencing on the fields, no “do not touch” signs, just a polite request not to trample the blooms. Tulips in an array of colors beg to be photographed and few festival-goers seem inclined to resist. Some pose children in Easter finery or beloved dogs between the rows. Professional photographers abound; selfie snappers are everywhere. But like me, many festival-goers are hooked on the experience itself — returning repeatedly over the years, drawn by the irresistible allure of this color-soaked landscape. We’re there for the sheer wonder of thousands of blooms, squelching through the mud between the rows and immersing ourselves in the tulips, bending to catch their sweet fragrance and stroke their silken petals.

Flowers with Universal Appeal

The appeal is universal, said Barb Iverson, one of the owners of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. “Normally we have a world map and United States map in front of the office and it takes us maybe four or five days to get all 50 states pinned [by visitors]. On the world map, we get between 130 and 140 countries pinned every year. It’s just phenomenal.”

Initially, when a neighbor suggested opening the tulip fields to visitors Iverson was skeptical. Tulip bulbs were just one of several crops on the farm; what would anyone want to look at? But she placed a small advertisement in the Salem newspaper, filled a wheelbarrow full of cut blooms and prepared a simple order form for bulbs. “That weekend we had our first traffic jam,” Iverson said. “We thought, ‘Oh, maybe people do want to come and look at the fields.’” More than 30 years later, some 4,000 people — more on the weekends — come to see the tulips every day during Tulip Fest.

Six Weeks of Festival Fun

For approximately six weeks from late March to early May, Tulip Fest welcomes flower aficionados daily to the fields just eight miles from Woodburn. The dates vary according to the anticipated blooming season, and a field report on the Tulip Fest website provides weekly updates as the bloom progresses. Timed admission tickets can be purchased through the website or by phone. Weekdays are noticeably less crowded. Dogs on a leash are welcome. The fields can be muddy and spring weather unpredictable, so dress accordingly.

Like the fields, many of the festival’s attractions are open every day. Kids can race rubber ducks and engage in family-friendly entertainment in the outdoor play area. I’m fascinated by the master craftsman who carves clogs from chunks of wood. It’s an intriguing, laborious process that creates unique souvenirs. Also open daily during the festival are the gift shop with all things tulip-themed and the flower and retail food market. During the weekends, festival activities swing into high gear with tethered hot air balloon rides, a vendor’s marketplace and even more entertainment.

If walking the extensive fields seems daunting, purchase a ticket for a tour — with or without wine and snacks — in a tram for a closer look at the tulips. The 30-minute tours feature plenty of photo stops. Weather permitting, you can even float over the fields in a hot air balloon piloted by one of several Willamette Valley companies (make prior arrangements with a balloon company; links are on the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest website). Ticket and reservation information for the Tulip Train and Wine Wagon tours are available online.

Sip and Savor: Bratwurst, Wine and Gourmet Pasta

The first food cart at Tulip Fest was a nephew’s sausage-selling fundraiser for the Boy Scouts, Iverson said. Today hungry festival-goers can choose from various local food carts serving fresh-roasted coffee, pastries, barbecue, bratwurst, pizza and more. The retail market in the main building offers a taste of Oregon with local gourmet foods, such as handmade pasta from Esotico in nearby Silverton and sausages from the Mt. Angel Sausage Company just six miles away.

Both the market and the Wooden Shoe Vineyards’ tasting room are good places to find shelter and refreshment when spring showers dampen the fields. The vineyard, planted in 2009, produced the first Wooden Shoe estate wines in 2012. The boutique wines range from sparkling blush Moscato to pinot noir and even a Marechal Foch port-style wine. The tasting room also serves local beers and ciders and is open every day, year-round.

Blooms, Bulbs and Other Souvenirs

Even with tempting food, wine and a variety of entertainment, tulips remain at the heart of the family-friendly festival. They are, perhaps, also the best souvenir. Here’s a tip: When you see a tulip variety you’d like to order, photograph the sign in front of the row so the name is handy when you head to the flower market in the main building. That’s where you can buy cut flowers to brighten your home this spring and order bulbs to plant in the fall. You can also order online. The gift shop offers tulip-themed home decor, gifts and other souvenirs.

With more than 40 acres and 100 varieties of tulips blooming in colors from riotous reds to dreamy whites, it’s no wonder so many of us flower aficionados are hooked and return to Tulip Fest each year. “It’s just so unique,” Iverson said. “And I think that’s what the appeal is. There’s just nothing else like it.”