2023 Ottawa Tulip Festival

[Ed Storey]

The Ottawa Tulip Festival commemorates the close bonds between The Netherlands and Canada that were established during the war when the Royal Family sought refuge in Ottawa and Princess Margriet was born in the Ottawa Civic Hospital. Those bonds were further cemented when the 1st Canadian Army fought to liberate The Netherlands from late 1944 until VE-Day. Each year, to show their gratitude, tulips are gifted to Ottawa and in May they come into bloom. This year, with COVID restrictions lifted, the Tulip Festival was back for public viewing and the festival marked the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian Naval Reserve noting the key part played by the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) during the Second World War. HMCS Carleton provided the bulk of the military personnel, and the Naval Reserve Band was drawn from musicians across Canada. The quite capable and talented MC for the opening ceremonies looked quite pleasingly dressed in her reproduction SWW WREN uniform.

[Robin Craig]

Ed, was there any military vehicle involvement whatsoever?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Great to see that, Ed. This is what I discussed with Andrew Gregg the other day.

[Ed Storey]

Robin, there were no MVs; but HMCS Carleton had a gun crew there, the Netherlands Ambassador gave a good speech, Veterans Affairs had a slick interactive semaphore display and Bev Tosh had 16 life-size paintings of Dutch War Brides, each accompanied with a short description about either how they met their Canadian husband or how the wedding went. All the portraits were quite humorous and very poignant.