Clinton News Record, 2016-05-18, Page 3Wednesday, May 18, 2016 • News Record 3
Dutch -Canadian friendship celebrated with blooming tulips
A group of Dutch -Canadian residents sing the Dutch national anthem
A sign in the garden.
Justine Alkema
Clinton News Record
The Canadian -Dutch friendship has
been celebrated for years, and it was
commemorated once again on May
10 by the cenotaph in Clinton. School
groups, residents, a Dutch -singing
choir, dignitaries and veterans stood
around the adjacent tulip friendship
garden, which was a gift to the town.
Clinton was one of 140 municipali-
ties out of 400 applicants to receive
700 tulip bulbs; Central Huron Com-
munities in Bloom, assisted by the
Clinton Horticultural Society, applied
for the gift.
The contest itself was put on by the
Canadian Garden Council. Vesey's
Bulbs provided the flowers, and Can-
ada Post delivered them for free.
This tulip gift tradition started in
the spring of 1946 when 100,000
Dutch bulbs were given to Canada.
The bulbs were a gift to Canadian
communities as a gesture of apprecia-
tion for the role Canadian soldiers
played in the liberation of the Nether-
lands as well as the hospitality Can-
ada provided to the Dutch royal fam-
ily in Ottawa where Princess Margriet
was born during World War 11.
Since then, Canada has received
20,000 tulips annually, which are a
part of the Tulip Festival in Ottawa.
In the application, the Canadian
Garden Council asked why each
respective town thinks they deserve
the tulip bulbs.
"For Clinton, this question was a
no-brainer," said Vivienne Roy, who is
the Co-chair of Central Huron Com-
munities in Bloom, "since Clinton has
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Central Huron Communities in Bloom applied for the garden in front of the Clinton cenotaph.
such a huge Dutch presence."
The planting ceremony happened
in the fall, and the tulips just bloomed
in the last couple weeks. Veterans
Terry McGuire, who was in the Cana-
dian Navy, and Bill Bakelaar, who was
in the Dutch Airforce, were the first to
plant a bulb in the fall. They attended
the blooming ceremony as well.
The ceremony included singing the
Canadian anthem, Dutch -Canadian
citizens singing the Dutch anthem,
speeches from Mayor Ginn, Sarah
Baird on behalf of Lisa Thompson, the
veterans present, Vivienne Roy, and
city councilor Marg Anderson who is
also the chair of the Central Huron
Communities in Bloom committee.
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