Gray skies set the scene for a burst of colorful tulips May 5 in Heckscher Park during the Town of Huntington’s 19th annual tulip festival. More than 20,000 tulips were planted for the event which featured crafts, vendors, music, dance and an art contest.
Families enjoy an afternoon of free activities at the 18th annual Tulip Festival
The sun may have been hiding Sunday, but the tulips were out in full bloom in Huntington.
Residents strolled pathways bursting with color at the Town of Huntington’s 18th annual Tulip Festival May 6 in Heckscher Park. Thousands of tulips planted in selected beds throughout the park provided a scenic backdrop as families enjoyed and afternoon of free hands-on activities and live entertainment.
Scroll through our photos above and see if we caught you tiptoeing through the tulips.
On Sunday, May 6, families across Long Island are invited to enjoy the Town of Huntington’s annual celebration of spring. The natural beauty of the historic Heckscher Park will once again serve as the backdrop for the town’s highly anticipated 18th annual Tulip Festival.
The free event, located at 2 Prime Ave. in the Village of Huntington, will feature thousands of tulips planted in selected beds throughout the park, activity booths for children with creative, hands-on projects, lectures, demonstrations, a school art contest, refreshments and live entertainment on the Chapin Rainbow Stage from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D), the founder of the festival, and chief sponsor, NEFCU, are looking forward to an even bigger community-driven event this year.
“The 18th Annual Huntington Tulip Festival is a free event that has something for the whole family to enjoy,” said Cuthbertson, adding, “So please stop by and enjoy the festivities!”
To help make this wonderful day a success, volunteers are needed to distribute festival programs to visitors. Any person or community group is welcome to volunteer by calling 631-351-3099.
Entertainment schedule
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Explore the Heckscher Museum’s current exhibits for reduced admission ($2). Docents will be in the galleries to answer questions at 2 p.m.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Winning works from local School Art Contest will be on display near the Chapin Rainbow Stage.
Noon to 12:45 p.m. — Chapin Rainbow Stage Performance: Gizmo Guys, a rapid-fire juggling act with Allan Jacobs and Barrett Felker that exhilarates and inspires sidesplitting laughter in audiences of all ages.
1 to 1:45 p.m. — Chapin Rainbow Stage Performance: Griots in Concert, an inspirational and motivational performance featuring stories, music and songs from Africa, the Caribbean and America with vocalist and storyteller Linda Humes and master percussionist Sanga of the Valley. Griot is the French term for a West African oral historian or storyteller.
2 to 3 p.m. — Chapin Rainbow Stage Performance: Funkytown Playground, a music and movement program with Aly Sunshine and band featuring interactive songs that are catchy, fun and educational — a high-energy performance delivered with contagious enthusiasm!
4 p.m. — Festival closes. Heckscher Museum exhibits on view until 5 p.m.
The Town of Huntington, Astoria Bank, the Huntington Arts Council and the Heckscher Museum of Art recognized the winners of the 17th annual Tulip Festival Student Art Contest on Friday, May 5. For the contest, art students were asked to express their views on spring in Huntington and the Annual Tulip Festival using artistic interpretation.
The contest was open to students in grades 3 through 8 in schools within Huntington township. Three winners from each grade level were honored at the event, with the first-prize winner receiving a $50 gift card courtesy of Astoria Bank.
Art teachers also received $50 for each student whose art was chosen as the best of the grade for use in purchasing art supplies, also courtesy of Astoria Bank.
Jennifer Zhu won the Carolyn Fostel Best in Show award, given in honor of the late Carolyn Fostel of Astoria Bank who was instrumental in joining Astoria Bank and the Town of Huntington together as co-sponsors of the Huntington Tulip Festival since its inception in 2001.
What better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than with a Tulip Festival? The natural beauty of the historic Heckscher Park will once again serve as the backdrop for the Town of Huntington’s highly anticipated signature spring tradition this Sunday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Now in its 17th year, the event was the brainchild of Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D).
“The 17th Annual Huntington Tulip Festival is a free event that has something for the whole family to enjoy. There is live entertainment throughout the afternoon on the Chapin Rainbow Stage, booths with hands-on activities for children and thousands of colorful tulips throughout the park,” said Cuthbertson, adding, “So please stop by Heckscher Park and enjoy the festivities.”
In addition to the festivities, the Heckscher Museum of Art will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. offering a special reduced pricing of $2 per person (members and children under 10 free!). Docents will be in the galleries leading tours beginning at 2 p.m. Enjoy the museum’s exhibitions Thaddeus Holownia: Walden Revisited, Earth Muse: Art and the Environment and The Art of Narrative: Timeless Tales and Visual Vignettes.
Since its inception, Huntington’s Tulip Festival has also included an annual photo contest. Entries by amateur and professional photographers will be juried to select the images most evocative of the beauty and family orientation of the festival and must be postmarked or received by July 31. Prize-winning images will be used in festival publicity.
Entertainment schedule
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Student Art Contest. Building up to the festival was an art contest for area students organized by the Huntington Arts Council. Award-winning work will be displayed near the Rainbow Chapin Stage.
Noon to 4 p.m. — Springtime Is for the Birds Art Workshop. Feathers will fly when children of all ages are invited to create colorful, mixed-media birds to celebrate spring on the terrace of the Heckscher Museum. In the event of inclement weather, activities will take place in the museum.
Noon to 12:45 p.m. — Children’s Music with Mike Soloway. Soloway is a teacher and performer of children’s music residing in Huntington. His children’s recordings include the “Moving With Mike” series, the “Preschool Action Song” series in addition to the albums “Hungry for Manners” and “School Bus Songs.”
1 to 1:45 p.m. — Inkarayku: Journey Through the Andes. An interactive children’s concert, Journey through the Andes takes children on a musical journey through the Andes Mountains, starting in northern Ecuador and ending in Bolivia. The concert features a storytelling narrative, singing along games and group dancing. Inkarayku members use large floor maps, theatrical costumes and props to transport youngsters to another time and place, giving them a one of kind educational experience.
2 to 3 p.m. — Songs & Puppetry with Janice Buckner. Buckner is one of the nation’s top performing artists for children. She tours nationally and has appeared on radio and television, as well as over 4,000 schools and concert halls. Buckner entertains audiences of all ages with her voice, guitars, puppets and her knowledge of Sign Language for the Deaf. She is noted for her voice, her creativity and the outstanding quality of her lyrics.
4 p.m. — Festival Closes. Museum exhibits on view until 5 p.m.
For more information regarding the Tulip Festival or if you would like to volunteer for the day, please call 631-351-3099.
Huntington Town hosted its 15th Annual Tulip Festival on Sunday, May 3, a springtime festival that is a free, family-oriented, floral event in Heckscher Park. It featured tulips, hands-on children’s activity booths and live entertainment. Hundreds of children and their families attended.
By Julianne Cuba
On Sunday, May 3, the 15th Annual Huntington Tulip Festival will take place in Heckscher Park in Huntington.
Founded by Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D) and organized by the Town of Huntington, with chief festival sponsorship support from Astoria Bank, the tulip festival will be home to children’s activity booths, art exhibits and live performances. The festival will begin at 11 a.m., rain or shine.
“It’s a small-scale, family-oriented festival that really helps mark the beginning of spring with the blossoming of about 5,000 tulip bulbs,” Cuthbertson said in a phone interview this week.
Presented by the Huntington Arts Council, live performances will begin on the Chapin Rainbow Stage at noon. The Gizmo Guys will take the stage first, with a humor-filled performance appropriate for all ages, according to a town press release.
The Shinnecock American Indian Dancers will take the stage at 1:30 p.m., with a 45-minute dance presentation that will include audience participation. At 2:15 p.m., the Shinnecock American Indian Dancers will lead the re-enactment of the children’s parade that followed the 1920 dedication of Heckscher Park. It will include a new Tulip Festival Hat Contest for children and adults.
Paul Helou, an award-winning songwriter, actor and journalist, will be the final performer on the Chapin Rainbow Stage, at 3 p.m. Helou “performs a [blend] of bluegrass, Americana, roots and folk music for children that are high-energy, interactive events with quality original songs,” according to the press release.
On the same day, the 31st Annual Sheep to Shawl Festival presented by the Huntington Historical Society will take place at the historic Dr. Daniel W. Kissam House Museum and Barn. A free shuttle bus will transport visitors between the festivals.
