Stayner 2023 Tulip Bloom Celebration
VIDEO: Stayner Garden Club donates new Tulip Fountainhead at Fountain Park
Every May, Clearview Township residents, community leaders, Legion representatives and visitors to Stayner gather to celebrate the bloom of tulips. This year, there was something extra to celebrate.
The Stayner Garden Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary. To mark this historic occasion, and to tie in to Clearview Tulip Days, the club has donated a new fountainhead, shaped like a tulip, and now fully operational, to welcome visitors to Fountain Park in downtown Stayner.
Ann Ripley (pictured above) is President of the Stayner Horticultural Society. She talked about the organization’s long history and the importance of the annual festival to the people of Clearview. The Clearview Tulip Days event holds historical significance. Ripley talked of the importance of remembering the liberation of Holland, saying each year the organization receives tulips from the Netherlands. Tulip Days is a street party, a community social event, held at and around Fountain Park in downtown Stayner. This year singer/song writer Jason Redman provided live entertainment while those in attendance enjoyed a barbecue.
As the Second World War was drawing to a close, Canadian soldiers were assigned the task of liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. Each year, the liberation of Holland is quietly recognized at the Stayner Tulip Festival. Ann Ripley said each year, her organization receives tulips from the Netherlands. Those tulips can be seen blooming each spring along the streets of Stayner. Mayor Doug Measures, Members of Clearview Council, Simcoe-Grey MP Terry Dowdall, Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson and the citizens of Clearview thank representatives from CFB Borden and the Legions for their service and for taking the time to attend the Tulip Days ceremony. It means so much.
The Stayner Garden Club (Stayner Horticultural Society) was created on April 27th, 1923, by a group of people that wished to make the town of Stayner one of Ontario’s prettiest small towns by beautifying the landscape. Every week during the late spring, summer and early fall, volunteers continue the work of maintaining the town’s six gardens by weeding and planting, updating the gardens as required with new annuals and perennials. This year, the club is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The tulip garden at Fountain Park is listed on Canada’s Garden Route