The Abbotsford Tulip Festival are extending the event into mid-May due to the slow start to spring.
With the flowers now in full bloom, crowds are coming en masse to the event, which is in its second year. Organizers announced Tuesday in a press release that the event, which had been scheduled to end on May 7, will now be extended to May 14 – which also happens to be Mother’s Day.
With weekends drawing capacity crowds to the North Parallel Road site, organizers are warning visitors that those who haven’t bought tickets in advance online might be turned away.
“It was a bit of a slow start but now that our tulips are in full bloom, we’re extremely busy and we want to be able to accommodate as many people as we can,” said organizer Alexis Warmerdam in a press release. “We do have a maximum capacity though, and that’s why we’re making it mandatory for people to purchase tickets in advance before they come because we don’t want to have to turn away people at the gate because we’re sold out.”
The caps were implemented this year after huge crowds caused traffic and problem issues in the event’s inaugural year.
Last week, the Abbotsford News spoke with event organizer Alexis Warmerdam about how the 2017 edition of the festival is looking. Tickets can be purchased at abbotsfordtulipfestival.ca/.
Video by: Ben Lypka