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Here's what to expect at the Canadian Tulip Festival this spring

Here's what to expect at the Canadian Tulip Festival this spring

Calgary Herald01-05-2025
Editor's note: Princess Margriet of the Netherlands cancelled her Canadian visit due to medical reasons on April 30 and this article was updated accordingly.
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Ottawa's Canadian Tulip Festival, which is returning for 11 days beginning May 9, will coincide this year with the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
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Marking eight decades of liberation, the 73rd festival will have added poignancy this year, with the Canadian Army acting as host.
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The event 'honours Canada's heroic role in freeing the Netherlands during the Second World War — and the enduring bond that bloomed from it,' organizers said.
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The public is invited to the official opening ceremony on Saturday, May 10, at 10:30 a.m. at the Great Lawn, Commissioners Park. Guests can welcome veterans in a powerful tribute that includes the CAF Central Band, Canadian Remembrance Torch, army cadets and a convoy of vintage military vehicles. A moment of silence and a cannon salute will officially launch the festival.
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Princess Margriet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who was born in Ottawa during the war, was set to co-host the celebration but had to cancel due to medical reasons, said Jo Riding, executive director of the Canadian Tulip Festival.
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'We wish her highness a speedy recovery and hope she and her husband, Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven, will both be able to join us next year instead,' Riding added.
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There remains a robust representation from the embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, featuring the new ambassador to Canada, Margriet Vonno, who will carry a message from Princess Margriet. Further, Dutch Days, planned at the embassy's pavilion in the heart of Commissioners Park, will include almost daily games and concerts.
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