The annual Orange City Tulip Festival Extravaganza was held Wednesday, March 20, at Prairie Winds Event Center. The event featured a luncheon and program during which the 2024 Tulip Queen and Court costumes were revealed, and the 2024 parade marshal was introduced.
TULIP COURT COSTUMES
The 2024 Tulip Court is proud to wear the authentic Party Walchren costume, which dates back to 1860. Walcheren is an island in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands known for farming, fishing, shipbuilding, distilling, brewing, and spinning.
The hat has two parts. The outer hat is the Sun Bonnet or Zonmuts, made of cream-colored satin and bordered with Navy Blue. The under hat or Ondermuts is elegant, with heavy white lace by the cheek, trimmed with narrow lace. The hat is held together with pins that connect to the Ear Iron or Oorizer. This spiral piece is decorated with Hat Ornaments or Strikken at the temple. The bodice, or buek, is a cream-colored bib worn under the jacket. The neckline is accented with gold lace and braid. It has been tediously cross-stitched with symbols representing its wearer’s life. Between the 6 cross stitch volunteers, over 500 hours have gone into making these details.
The scarf, or Doekje, is made of rust, white, and green chiffon. It is folded into a very narrow shape and tacked to the inside of the jacket. The jacket, or Jak, is gold for our Queen and rust for our court. It is short and close-fitting, with close-fitting sleeves. The skirt or Rok is made from 2 different striped fabrics and is pleated into a slimming waistline. The aprons are hand-pleated to fit the wearer’s waist and finished with a velvet waistband.
