The 16th annual Lewes Tulip Celebration in Delaware is now in full bloom.
Red, yellow and orange tulips are popping out all over town. They represent the city’s Dutch heritage, dating back to 1631.
The tulips bring the tourists. Many visitors are arriving to enjoy our (hopefully) warm Spring days exploring the city’s beauty and history.
The flowers are planted each Fall by Lewes in Bloom, the 400-strong volunteer group that tends to 21 gardens in the city. The timing of the tulips’ appearance is an inexact science and either milder or colder weather in advance of the event dates can increase the probability that the dates of the celebration may not exactly coincide with the tulips blooming!
The group’s founder, Warren Golde, was inspired to launch Lewes in Bloom after a visit to your English city.
There is a schedule of activities associated with the Tulip Festival – the Great Delaware Kite Festival, Easter egg hunt and other events are part of the celebration.
America celebrates its 250th birthday
Speaking of celebrations, the city is planning a big one that kicks off on Easter weekend.
America celebrates its semi-quincentennial, 250th birthday, in 2026 and Lewes is ready to party.
The city will honour the legacy of Paul Revere’s midnight ride on April 18, 1775.
Legend has it that Revere warned colonists that “the British are coming”. He was tasked with riding to Lexington, Massachusetts, with the news that British soldiers stationed in Boston were about to march into the countryside northwest of the town. There was talk that they would arrest two Sons of Liberty and then continue on to the town of Concord, to capture or destroy military stores. What happened next sparked the Revolutionary War.
Two lights for tomorrow
The city is encouraging citizens and businesses to take part in Two Lights for Tomorrow by placing two lights in their windows as a symbol of hope and unity. The event is a nationwide effort by the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is a reference to the two lanterns hung in Boston’s Old North Church that signaled the British were arriving by sea.
The city will host a free community bonfire on April 19 on Savannah Beach. Lewes is one of the few beach communities that allows bonfires.
Incidentally, Delaware has its own legendary revolutionary rider, Caesar Rodney. He is said to have ridden 70 miles from Dover, Delaware to Philadelphia in a thunderstorm on July 2, 1776, to break a tie vote in favour of independence. He signed the Declaration of Independence a month later.
A committee of Lewes city and business leaders and non-profit organizations is planning for more events this year and in 2026.
“You can’t talk about independence or the 250th anniversary without talking about Tom Paine”, said one of the committee members at a recent meeting. His idea is to have someone recite Paine, while playing period music.
(I told the committee of my collaboration with Sussex Bylines and that you have Paine’s house)!
The Lewes tulip
Here is where the tulips come back into the picture. Our city has also announced a collaboration with a local florist for a symbolic red-and-yellow “Lewes tulip”.
They will designate one park for the commemorative tulip. The hope is they will bloom, right on time, in the Spring of 2026, to welcome the world for the semi-quincentennial.
Every July 4 is busy in Lewes, Delaware. We have a parade on Second Street, a boat parade and a large fireworks display in the evening.
But just like in Lewes, England, 250 years just scratches the surface of history.
The committee planning for the semi-quincentennial is already talking about the next big thing: Lewes’ 400th birthday in 2031.
They’re getting the tulips ready!
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