Due to thunderstorms the Street Scrubbing will be held inside City Hall. The traditional Dutch ceremony of scrubbing the streets clean before a big celebration has served as the official kickoff to Tulip Festival weekend for 71 years. This unique Albany event will include Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s Tulip Festival opening proclamation and a procession from City Hall. Amy Heebner will perform a special musical program on Albany City Hall’s historic 49-bell carillon to begin the event at 11:30 a.m. Immediately following the street scrubbing, Mistress of Ceremonies, Lydia Kulbida of News 10 hosts the Albany Tulip Festival Luncheon at 90 State. This long-standing Tulip Festival weekend tradition offers a farewell and thank you to 2018 Albany Tulip Queen Sawyer Cresap and her Court. Proceeds from the Tulip Festival Luncheon will benefit Tulip Queen and Court literacy programs via the Tulip Fund at the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region. Tickets are required and a few are still available for purchase at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-tulip-festival-luncheon-tickets-59382209788 The 71st Annual Albany Tulip Festival presented by Citizens Bank will be held May 11 & 12 in Washington Park. For more festival information call 518.434.2032, visitwww.albanyevents.org, or follow albanyNYevents on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Albany Police Department announced the following road closures and parking restrictions for Tulip Festival. Washington Park Restrictions: Parking Restrictions: Friday from 6 a.m. through Sunday: Washington Park Road, east side from Hudson Avenue north 6 spaces Washington Park Road, both sides from New Scotland Avenue to Lake Avenue Road Closures: Friday from 6 a.m. through Sunday: Washington Park Road, from New Scotland Avenue to Lake Avenue Tulip Fest Road Closures Saturday 12:01 a.m. until Sunday at 8 p.m., Washington Park, ALL ROADS, will be closed to all traffic Additionally, the following roadways will be closed to all but local (resident and emergency vehicles) traffic Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m – 6 p.m. each day: Lancaster Street between Lark Street and Willett Street Hudson Avenue between Lark Street and Willett Street Willett Street between Madison Avenue and State Street Henry Johnson between Western and State Street State Street between Robin and Lark Street Saturday and Sunday, 6 a.m. -6 p.m. each day, the following roadway will be closed to all traffic: Englewood Place between Western Avenue and the south dead end. Tulip Fest Parking Restrictions: Saturday at 12:01 a.m. until Sunday at 8 p.m.: Washington Park – ALL ROADWAYS including Henry Johnson Boulevard Saturday and Sunday 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. each day: Englewood Place, both sides from Western Avenue to the south dead end Thurlow Terrace, both sides form Western Avenue to the south dead end Saturday at 6 a.m. until Sunday at 8 p.m.: Madison Avenue, north side from the bus stop east of New Scotland Avenue east 12 spaces State Street, south side 4 spaces west of Henry Johnson Boulevard S. Pearl Street, west side 2 spaces south of State Street Madison Avenue, north side 2 spaces west of Grand Street Elk Street, both sides 3 spaces west of Eagle Street Elk Street, north side 3 spaces west Hawk Street Parking in the vicinity of Washington Park is limited. Please consider using alternate parking facilities that have been set up for t his event. A CDTA shuttle bus will be running from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The bus will make a loop to the following stops where parking is available: State Street at Henry Johnson Boulevard. The bus will stop on the southwest corner on State St. S. Pearl Street at State Street. The bus will stop on the southwest corner on S. Pearl Street Madison Avenue & Eagle Street. The bus will stop on the northeast corner on Madison Avenue Elk Street at Eagle Street. The bus will stop on Elk Street Elk Street at N. Hawk Street. The bus will stop on Elk Street Parking is available for residents where parking is affected by the event. The following parking areas are available on the above mentioned shuttle stop locations:<doc-sep>The 71st annual tulip festival will be taking place this weekend. Nearly 90,000 tulips have been planted in Washington Park. The flowers are now in full bloom just in time for the Albany Tulip Festival this weekend. Jessica Morgan is a gardener for the city of Albany. “In this area, you will see about 150 different varieties,” said Morgan. She plants the tulip bulbs in October, and said it’s rewarding to see the joy they bring others this time of the year. “It makes me feel so proud. and not for myself and the accomplishment, but everyone comes out and gets to enjoy and experience tulips in manners they probably wouldn’t. There’s many different varieties here and there is a lot to see and do.” The flowers attract many visitors from outside of the city of Albany. Tulip fest will be taking place this Saturday and Sunday from 11-6pm, and there will be parking restrictions during those times. “If you live in the park areas, we have road marshalls that will let you in and out of the area. So that shouldn’t affect you,” explained Ryan Murray, public relations coordinator for Albany Cultural Affairs. “Getting in and out of the park will be blocked for safety reasons, but we do have 3 local parking garages that are available to park in for free, and we are running a CDTA shuttle for free back and forth every 20 minutes.”<doc-sep>GET OUR NEW APP Our new Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.<doc-sep>The past week's rain and overcast sky gave way to a sunny day and light breeze Saturday during Albany's 71st annual Tulip Festival. Thousands flocked to historic Washington Park on the balmy second day of the three-day Tulip Festival celebration, posing for photos in front of the dozens of vibrant tulip beds flanked by lines of food trucks and bands playing live music. Saturday's festivities were kicked off when Glenmont-native Emily Barcia-Varno, 22, was crowned as the 2019 Tulip Queen. Barcia-Varno is a recent graduate of The College of Saint Rose, where she earned a marketing degree. She now works for the state Department of Civil Service, and has volunteered through Saint Rose, as well as at local soup kitchens, the Ronald McDonald House and in Panama, where she worked to help preserve native orchids. The Tulip Queen is selected each year from a field of five nominees, who are selected through a committee of local leaders and former Tulip Court members and an interview process. The winner receives a $5,000 scholarship, while the other four members join the Tulip Court and are awarded $1,500 scholarships. The four other finalists were Isabella Burnett, 19, of Albany, Parneet Kaur, 19, of Green Island, Megan Morrill, 23, of Latham, and Michaela Schramm, 18, of Loudonville. Barcia-Varno and her court will spend the next year working on community outreach program related to improving literacy, and will attend events throughout the year to promote education and community awareness. "This is a great group, and I know we're going to get a lot done this year," Barcia-Varno said. Barcia-Varno succeeds the 2018 Tulip Queen, Sawyer Cresap, whose court volunteered at 90 different locations around Albany last year, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said. The Tulip Festival has been an annual Mother's Day weekend event since 1949. The festival has its roots in Albany's Dutch heritage, according to members of the Dutch Settlers Society of Albany. The festival came about after a relationship was forged between Albany and the Dutch city of Nijmegen in the aftermath of World War II, when Albany residents sent relief supplies to the city following its liberation from Nazi Germany's control. That battle, Operation Market Garden, was depicted in the 1977 movie "A Bridge Too Far." Albany residents in 1947 shipped 300 tons of donated food, clothing, medical supplies, household goods and building materials to its Dutch sister city, which is roughly the same size as Albany. The humanitarian shipment helped rebuild Nijmegen, which was devastated by bombing and fighting during the war. In gratitude, the Dutch sent a shipment of tulips, which were planted in Albany's Washington Park. That was the genesis of the city's Tulip Festival. Since then, representatives from Albany and Nijmegen have traveled to both cities, and Friendship Albany-Nijmegen, a not-for-profit organization, is committed to deepening the bond between the two cities. "We really want to revive the friendship that dates back to 1947," Anja Adriaans, the leader of FAN, said. "The importance it had at that time is still relevant. The history will always be the base of our connection." Adriaans said students from two high schools in Nijmegen will spend a week in Albany in October as part of a cultural exchange program. "And next year...we hope that we can receive Albany high school students back," she said. Sunday's festivities will be highlighted by the 21st Annual Mother of the Year Award, which Mayor Sheehan will hand out in recognition of the Capital Region's most outstanding moms. Visit albanyevents.org to learn more about the Sunday schedule of Tulip Festival events.<doc-sep>
The flowers are in bloom, and Albany is ready to welcome the annual Tulip Festival to the capital city this weekend. The festival has been held since 1948, after Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands — in gratitude for Albany's assistance in rebuilding the city of Nijmegen following World War II — sent Albany a shipment of tulips that were planted in Washington Park. The festival runs from Saturday to Sunday at Albany’s Washington Park. Admission is free. Let's look at what else you need to know for the weekend. Where can I park? There will be free CDTA shuttle buses taking festival goers into the park from the Elk Street parking lot behind the State Education Building; the Eagle Street parking lot on the corner of Eagle and Madison Avenue; and the Albany Medical Center parking lot off Robin Street. The latter is for those who are disabled or need additional assistance. It will take them to the Madison Avenue/New Scotland Avenue entrance to Washington Park. I’m just here for the flowers. What’s in store? More than 100,000 of the early-season flowers are expected to be in bloom for the festival. Free tours will be provided, though reservations are required (by calling 518-434-2032). The schedule of the tours: May 6-8, 2-5 p.m.; May 9, 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; May 10, 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 5:30 p.m. So what if you’re not into flowers? There’s plenty going on that isn’t floral. The festival weekend starts Friday with the traditional Dutch scrubbing of the streets, as well as a procession from City Hall. There’s also Saturday’s Tulip Queen coronation, Saturday night’s Royal Tulip Ball and music performances all day Saturday and Sunday. Who’s playing this weekend? Saturday on the main stage: the bands El Modernist, The Greeting Committee and KONGOS. Saturday on the Local 518 stage: Hasty Page, CK & the Rising Tide, Sydney Worthley and Wild Planes. Sunday on the main stage: Girl Blue, local “The Voice” performer Moriah Formica, and Marshall Charloff & the Purple Xperience. Sunday on the Local 518 stage: Mike Grutka, Honey Slider, Bird Streets and Let’s Be Leonard. What’s in it for the kids? There’s plenty for them to do. There’s a “Kidzone” Saturday and Sunday, with an activity tent, recreational sports, arts and crafts, and music. The Kidzone stage will have entertainment throughout the weekend. Who will be named Tulip Queen? One of these finalists, who were announced last Wednesday: Emily Barcia-Varno, 22, of Glenmont Isabella Burnett, 19, of Albany Parneet Kaur, 19, of Green Island Megan Morrill, 23, of Latham Michaela Schramm, 18, of Loudonville The queen will be crowned at noon Saturday at the Lakehouse Stage, succeeding 2018 Tulip Queen Sawyer Cresap.