[Religion and the Visual] Religion on Parade

Abstract

With the exception of the years during World War II, thousands of people have flocked to the small northwest Iowa town of Orange City to celebrate Tulip Festival on the third weekend in May since 1936 (Orange City Tulip Festival 2010). The annual celebration of Dutch American culture features the coronation of the city’s Tulip Queen and her court, a StraatMarkt complete with traditional Dutch food and children’s activities, a quilt show, performances of traditional Dutch songs by The Dutch Dozen, and for the teenagers, a recently added “Vande Fear” modeled after the television show, Fear Factor. While all of the events and activities draw a crowd, the highlights of Tulip Festival are the parades held twice daily on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Each parade begins with the burgemeester declaring that the street is too dirty and in no condition for the queen.