The Whatcom County
Memorial Day Parade
Honoring Our Heroes,
Celebrating Our Community
How It All Started
Did you know that a century ago, Whatcom County was actually the main draw for tulip-seekers. Beginning in 1920 and ending in 1929, Bellingham’s annual Tulip Festival celebrated the dawning of spring with parades, pageantry, and other festivities.
It was an event that drew people from well beyond the county’s borders and prospered greatly due to the confluence of several societal trends, including the growing normality of the affordable automobile and the economic prosperity of the “Roaring Twenties.”
Getting in Gear
With individual travelers now visiting Bellingham in their own vehicles, local businessmen like Henry Schupp — manager of the Leopold Hotel — encouraged the idea of tourism.
Schupp and others hatched the idea to create a springtime draw to the city using the blossoming beauty of tulips. At the time, several tulip fields were located close to Bellingham, including at the present-day Smith Gardens area off Marine Drive and at a large government bulb farm site that’s now Bellis Fair Mall!
So it Begins
In April 1920, the city’s very first Tulip Festival commenced, boasting a carnival — held on the current site of Bellingham High School — as well as the naming of a festival queen. Local businesses picked a series of ladies from the county as candidates, and whichever business sold the most Tulip Festival pins would have their girl declared the winner.
Floating Away
The festival’s biggest event, however, was its parade. Every school, fraternal organization, and important community entity spent time and effort crafting their floats, many of which were set atop stripped-down automobile frames. Cities as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia, entered floats, too.
There were boats, dragons, and all manner of amusing entries; one year, a float from Lynden featured a very fake cow next to some very live chickens, which were encased in a makeshift chicken wire coup!
The well-spectated parade route, began along Holly Street around the area of Forest and Garden Streets, and proceeded down Holly for several blocks before turning onto Cornwall and several other streets. The first year, the parade actually went up Holly Street. Unsurprisingly, this was never repeated.
Through 1929, the late April-early May festival grew in popularity and stature, mirroring the 1920s building boom of downtown Bellingham.
With the Great Depression in full swing by the spring of 1930, the Tulip Festival was downsized to a children’s event — due to a decrease in both local business sponsorships and tourism.
A Lasting Legacy
In spirit, however, the Tulip Festival never really died. After World War II, in 1947 Bellingham revived its springtime celebration, sans tulips, with the “Blossom Time Festival.” Parades, carnivals, and festival queens graced Bellingham’s streets once more, and Blossom Time continued in name until the early 1980s.
Ski to Sea
In 1973, Blossom Time added a multi-sport relay race called “Ski to Sea,” which quickly became popular. About a decade later, the festival itself was renamed Ski to Sea, and it continues to this day each Memorial Day weekend. There is fun, there is excitement, and there is still the parade!
Whatcom Memorial Day Parade
In 2018 The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce ended its sponsorship of the traditional Blossomtime Parade, once again, due to the local economy. Local veterans and volunteers—led by David "Mac" McMaster and the Marine Corps League—stepped in to raise funds and relaunch the event as the Whatcom County Memorial Day Parade. Together, partnered with the City of Bellingham, we are keeping the tradition alive and well.
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What people are saying about
The Whatcom Memorial Day Parade...
May 2022
This is your Testimonial section paragraph. It’s a great place to tell users how much you value your customers and their feedback.
Elli Iluay
May 2024
This is your Testimonial section paragraph. It’s a great place to tell users how much you value your customers and their feedback.
Danny Baker
May 2026
"It just gets better and better, I feel like the old parade is finally back!"
Ariana Primey
