On Saturday, March 21, over 80,000 tulips filled Union Square in San Francisco to celebrate National Tulip Day and the arrival of the spring season. Thousands of locals and tourists wrapped around the square in excitement for the ceremony.
The event, presented by JPMorgan Chase, was open from 1 to 4:30 p.m and allowed each person to take up to eight flowers.
An estimated 50,000 people were lined up eager to collect their bouquets, with some getting in lines as early as 5 a.m.
(Isla Geithman)
The event was held in honor of the Union Square in Bloom initiative, where local businesses celebrated the spring season with food, florals, drinks and events.
A participant of National Tulip Day, Corey shared that he traveled from Livermore and got in line at 9:15 a.m.
“This is kind of a little memorial in my head for my mother, since she passed away a few years ago,” Corey said.
Recent college graduate Yin Xiang said that she and her friend have been wanting to come to National Tulip Day for years but have always been busy with school. The two were finally able to attend National Tulip Day this year after graduation.
Xiang highlighted the various messages from National Tulip Day between the arrival of spring and celebration of Women’s History Month.
“The tulips are a symbolism of giving and gifting for the people in your life and that’s something I really liked about the messaging of this [event],” Xiang said.
She also said events like this bring the community to San Francisco while also celebrating International Women’s Day, which was on March 8.
“I think it’s a nice gesture for the city to put together an event like this because you don’t typically see so many people in one place,” Xiang said.
The opening ceremony began with speeches by Marisa Rodriguez, (CEO of Union Square Alliance), member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Danny Sauter and Consul General of the Netherlands Theo Peters among a few others.
After the ceremony, crowds flooded in collecting their bouquets and National Tulip Day bags. Various stores surrounding the event had floral decorations in support of National Tulip Day and its many symbols of Women’s History Month and the approaching spring season.
