Final weekend of Tulip Festival draws crowds despite weather, parking issues

People stroll through the Canadian Tulip Festival on a rainy day on Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Katelyn Wilson/CTV News Ottawa)

Even with grey skies overhead, crowds turned out to see the tulips in bloom on the final weekend of the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa.

Umbrellas and cameras in hand, visitors strolled through the gardens at Dows Lake, undeterred by the weather.

“We wished for better weather than today, but it’s okay, at least it’s not raining anymore,” one visitor said.

This year’s festival marked a meaningful milestone, commemorating 80 years since the liberation of the Netherlands, a tribute to Canada’s role in freeing the country during the Second World War.

“Every year, the Dutch give us 10,000 tulip bulbs — just to say thanks,” said Jo Riding, the festival’s executive director.

The enduring friendship between Canada and the Dutch royal family continues to bloom in the heart of the nation’s capital each spring.

“We’re looking at another fantastic year of close to half a million people over 11 days and nights,” Riding said.

While the flowers were a draw, getting to them was another story for some.

During opening weekend alone, Ottawa bylaw officers issued 372 parking tickets around Dows Lake and Little Italy.

“I’ve lived here for 20 years. Most people are respectful,” said Sharon, one resident who lives near the festival grounds.

“I wish that bylaw or the police would focus more on traffic safety. Sometimes we see tickets going to people who are disabled, which is not very fair.”

For some, the newly opened Line 2 of the O-Train provided a new alternative. The line, which stops at Dows Lake, helped some visitors avoid parking entirely.

Alexis Lopez and his family took the train in from Riverside South.

“It’s really difficult to find a spot and it’s expensive too and then we didn’t want to get a ticket, so we rode the train this time,” Lopez said.

Riding says a new parking garage, which is expected to open next spring, will ease the pressure going forward.

“That will be a huge boost for us because it’s difficult when we have to use our parking lot right there and for the last couple of years, we’ve had to wait and find alternate routes,” she said.

As the second-to-last day of the festival wore on, the skies stayed grey, but the festival spirit didn’t fade.

The fun continues Sunday night with a hybrid fireworks drone show starting at 9:20 p.m. The festival wraps up on Victoria Day.