Pella Festival Celebrates Proud Dutch Traditions

The smell of freshly baked Dutch letters and grill-cooked bologna filled the Pella, Iowa, air this weekend for the annual Tulip Time festival.

Every year, thousands of Iowans flock to the quaint, Dutch town to participate in this time-honored festival. Lining the streets and featured in the front yards of local homes are beautiful tulips. As the cool air blew down Main Street, the radiant colors of orange, red, pink, purple and white glistened in the May sun.

On Saturday, guests sat back to enjoy a parade of local businesses, high school marching bands and Pella residents donned in traditional Dutch clothing. Little girls in red and blue Holland cloth and white chaperons passed out pastry samples from nationally known Jaarsma’s Bakery, while the newly crowned tulip queen waved to the crowd. As the windmills blew in the background, the announcer introduced every float from the town square sound system. “And now, the Pella Christian Marching Band!”

Pella native Connie Van Wyk, dressed in traditional Dutch garb, sits back in front of the many windmills that line the small town streets. She said that she loves the festival and has participated in it since she was a little girl. In high school, learning how to Dutch dance was a P.E. requirement. Since then, she continued the tradition with her children.

“From then on, I pushed my kids in the kiddy parade and was on the floats,” she said. “You just keep going.”

Drake junior Kelsey Jones went to the festival for the first time with some of her friends. She said that she always heard about the celebration and decided to finally see it for herself.

“I loved the feeling of being in a tight-knit community,” she said. “There’s something special about small town festivals that you just can’t find in the big city.”

How the hundreds of Pella residents walked the parade in wooden shoes without complaint, no one will know. What is clear is that the spirit of this proud town warmed the hearts of the many faithful on a cool May day.