Dutch Heritage in Modern-Day Holland

          In 1997, Holland, Michigan celebrated its sesquicentennial. Since the one hundred and fifty years since its founding, Holland's Dutch heritage is still evident all around. The city has not lost its Dutch flavor.

          Located on Windmill Island is an authentic Dutch windmill called DeZwaan. DeZwaan once stood in the Netherlands, was dismantled, and brought to Windmill Island, where it was put back together in 1964. The windmill is around two hundred and fifty years old and still grinds flour today. It is twelve stories high with sails eighty feet wide. Surrounding the windmill is a dike, a traditional Dutch drawbridge, fields of tulips, a carousel, a miniature of the Netherlands, and buildings constructed in traditional Dutch architecture, like a replica of a 200 years old Dutch Inn, in which "The Posthouse Museum" is established. They have their own group of "Klompen" dancers, who dance in traditional dress with wooden shoes. You also can see a movie about Dutch windmills, and how candles are decorated by carving.

          Holland Museum saves many things about Dutch culture and history. They have, among other things:

• a historic wall-map of the Netherlands when the country was called 'the Rebublic of the Seven United Netherlands', and within every of the seven provinces is a medallion with a Christian feast-day is represented on it
• A clock which plays the Dutch anthem, with seven revolving discs representing the political system of the Netherlands, which rotate when the clock is switched on.
• A series of pre-war glass churches which represent the religions in the Netherlands
• the compass with which the family Klumper found their way to Holland
• a copy of the famous pamphlet by Klumper and A.C. Van Raalte

          There is also a shopping center in Holland with 50 shops called Dutch Village. Many products are sold, like wooden shoes, Dutch delftware and Dutch delicacies. Dutch Village is entered by crossing over a Dutch bridge. Dutch Village, which once started one building, is now a collection of specialty shops and amusements, all in historic Dutch style (from around 1900). Many stores sell and make things such as wooden shoes, Dutch delftware, lace, candles, and chocolate. The Queen's Inn Restaurant serves authentic Dutch dishes, but also American dishes. Also located there are a Dutch chair swing and carousel, with tulip gardens all around, a Frisian farm, a witchesbalance from 1708, and a replica of "De Magere Brug", a bridge from Amsterdam.

          At Veldheer's Tulip Farm, beside huge fields of colorful tulips and other perennials (over two million flowers, which bloom from June until October), there is the "DeKlomp Wooden Shoe and Delftware Factory". Visitors can see how wooden shoes are made, from a piece wood till a painted wooden shoe and everything in between, and tour the factory for free. They also create hand-painted Delftware, in the old-fashioned Dutch way, and are the only Delftware factory in the United States.

          Each May, the Tulip Time Festival is held, and years before it, the hotels are full. It was first started 1929 from the idea of Miss Lida Rogers of having a festival celebrating Holland's Dutch heritage with tulips and Dutch customs. That year, 100,000 tulips, which had been planted the previous fall, bloomed and many people came to see them. In 1933, a group of local high school girls were the first group of "Klompen Dancers", who dressed in traditional Dutch dress, including wooden shoes, and performed old-world style Dutch dances. Since then, there has always been Klompen Dancers during Tulip Time, with well over 1,500 people participating. Downtown Holland hosts the Dutch Marktplaats, which has authentic food, crafts, music, and souvenirs, with performances by the Klompen Dancers. The festival starts with scrubbing the main street, and the people wear wooden shoes. Then there are three parades during the week-long festival, which starts at the Wednesday which is the most close to the 15th of May: Kinderparade (Children's Parade), Muziekparade (Parade of Bands), and Volksparade (People's Parade). In addition, there are many musical events and historical tours that go on during Tulip Time.