By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The American Village is set to host one of its flagship events, the Festival of Tulips, in the early months of 2025.

“The ninth annual Festival of Tulips is coming to the American Village in just a few weeks,” read a Facebook post from American Village on Wednesday, Jan. 29. “Keep an eye on our social media for the grand opening date.”

The event has been formally announced to open on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 10 a.m.

Admission to the event is $5, while festival attendees can buy tulip bulbs for $2 each. The event will open once 20 percent of the flowers at American Village are in bloom, and will continue as long as the tulips are blooming. This period typically lasts around three to four weeks.

Once the festival kicks off, it will be open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The event will also include food trucks from Nettie B’s Grill, C’s Cake and Coffee, Sunshine Lemonade, The Frozen Rooster and Birmingham Wings & Waffles.

Melanie Poole, the communications officer at American Village, gave some background on the inception of the Festival of Tulips.

“The American Village founder, Tom Walker, wanted to create a signature event to bring people to the American Village, not necessarily for an educational experience,” Poole said. “He knew that a lot of people view the American Village as just a place for school field trips. So he came up with the Festival of Tulips as a way to attract new visitors to campus and sneak in a little bit of American history while they were here.”

Poole said that it is hard to be emotionally disaffected while attending the festival.

“The Festival of Tulips is just so much fun,” Poole said. “I mean, who can be sad in a field of 120,000 blooming flowers? This will be our ninth year doing it, and it’s bigger and better than ever before.”

Since the timing of the festival is completely dependent on the health of the tulips, Poole gave an update on where the flowers currently stand.

“Right now, the flowers are not blooming,” Poole said. “The greenery is about three inches tall, so we know they’re well on their way. We are keeping an eye on the field day by day and keeping people up to date.”

While the tulips are the main attraction of the festival, Poole emphasized that the American Village will also have various activities to keep attendees entertained.

“Every day during the Festival of Tulips there will be a posted schedule of activities that will take place inside the field,” Poole said. “For instance, one day we might have a puppet show. One day we might be able to talk to a soldier in (President George) Washington’s Continental Army. When you arrive at the Festival of Tulips, there will be a posted schedule and you can take advantage of any or all of those activities as well as enjoying the flowers.”

Furthermore, the event will still feature costumed historical interpreters, a staple of American Village.

“We have such a wealth on our staff of costumed historical interpreters,” Poole said. “They are so passionate about the figures from the past that they portray. They bring history to life. I mean, where else in Alabama can you go and meet Abigail and John Adams or the captain in the Continental Army? It’s a very unique experience.”

According to Poole, last year’s festival brought approximately 7,500 new visitors to the American Village. She added that the main takeaway that visitors should have from the festival is a celebration of America as a whole.

“I would love for everyone who comes to the American Village, whether or not it’s during the Festival of Tulips, (to have) a sense of pride in what it means to be an American, a renewed sense of patriotism, a dedication to learn more about our founding era and (to) look forward to the upcoming 250th birthday of our country next year,” Poole said.

For more information on the Festival of Tulips, visit American Village’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/AmericanVillageAlabama.