A lot of you spent your summers, just like me many (many) years ago digging in the dirt harvesting the tulip, iris and daffodil bulbs that grow so beautifully in our temperate climate.  It was a unique experience that we had this opportunity of working together with kids from different schools.  Longtime friendships and relationships were created because of this shared experience.  I am sad young people today are unable to create these memories but that is the topic of another article. 
It never occurred to me that the barren fields lined with rows of bulbs underground were ablaze with color in the spring.  Looking to capitalize on the beauty, a group of people decided to invite the world to the very first Skagit Valley Tulip Festival to see the flowers in full bloom.   Fast forward and we are now in the midst of this international event.  Local artist Lee Mann was approached by the committee to create the 25th anniversary poster.  His stunning creation captures the essence of the festival perfectly.  There were rumbling early on from people that it was just a Mount Vernon event and nothing was in it for us.  Here is a fact:  the occupancy percentage at the local Inn I managed rose 39% in the month of April as a direct result of the festival.  I passed that information on to then director Audrey Smith and before I knew it, I was on the volunteer board of directors of the festival.  
During that time, our event was selected to participate at the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa in conjunction with the opening of the new United States Embassy.  We spent two years planning and preparing a presentation that would let the people attending know what the Skagit Valley had to offer not only in April for the tulips but also for the other eleven months of the year. We already know Loggerodeo is an iconic valley event and so did the planning committee, so much so that it became a key part of the display in Canada.  Rocky MacArthur and Dick Sizemore became festival celebrities as they demonstrated their artistic skill dressed in their full regalia.  They were interviewed many times by the local news media about Loggerodeo.
Our partnership with the festival is continuing with Woodfest 2008.  This just completed sanctioned event benefited from the power of the Tulip Festival. Take some time to go check out the tulips.