The Orchestra Parade (or Muziekparade) in the Netherlands made a remarkable impression on me and my friends even more than our visit to the Dutch Village of Nelis and Windmill Island in the Netherlands. Having lived in big cities, we had perhaps come to expect more entertainment than what was on offer for tourists; but still, we had a great time and enjoyed every moment while visiting the fake Dutch Village Netherlands and the Authentic Windmill.
I had been to Holland, Michigan before, but it was a long time ago, so I was glad to be back, especially in such tough economic times when traveling far from home is difficult. The three hour trip to the Netherlands for a mini-vacation this time was worth it.
It was the last day of the Tulips Time Festival with a Meijer Muziekparade. This festival is for people who love flowers and enjoy watching them dance with wooden shoes. Despite an unusually windy and rainy day, we started with a visit to Windmill Island. The parade was supposed to start at two in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to spend on Windmill Island.
We walked through a row of replica old-style Dutch shops, just like you’d see in Amsterdam, and a replica Dutch bridge over a canal, leading to the field of tulips and the actual windmill. A guided tour of the windmill is offered during the Tulip Festival. Surprisingly, we had to wait in line for some time to get into “De Zwaan”, a 248-year-old working Dutch windmill. The name of the windmill in Dutch means “The Swan” or “Elegant Bird”. It is the only authentic working Dutch windmill in the United States.
The story of the arrival of this remarkable windmill in the United States is quite interesting. Willard Wichers and Carter Brown, residents of Holland, Michigan, were looking for a way to pay homage to the town’s Dutch heritage, so they started a project to bring a Dutch windmill to the United States. However, many windmills were badly damaged in World War II and the Dutch government prohibited the sale of windmills outside of the Netherlands.
Wichers and his group were able to obtain an exemption by selecting a badly damaged mill known as De Zwaan. In 1961, Dutch businessman Carter Brown orchestrated the relocation of an authentic Netherlands windmill as a monument to the town’s Dutch heritage. As a result of the efforts of Wichers and Brown, in October 1964, De Zwaan arrived in the United States. It took approximately six months to rebuild the mill after its deconstructed arrival.
The tour of the windmill was led by an elderly local woman dressed in a Dutch costume. Her description captivated our attention. Each of the five floors has a different story. We spent several minutes on the observation balcony enjoying a nice peaceful view of the park and the colorful tulip fields below. By arrangement, Windmill Island still runs the windmill at least one day a year and still grinds flour and bags and flour runs out quickly.
Also, we visited a Posthouse museum (a replica of a 14th century inn), where we saw a reproduction of the room of the Dutch house. Windmill Island boasts beautiful gardens with approximately 150,000 tulips in bloom, including “Queen Night,” a black tulip. We observe a very fine diorama of a Dutch town located in one of the shop windows. In addition, there was a vintage carousel with handmade wooden horses and a working vintage Amsterdam street organ. We end our tour visiting souvenir shops and buying unique gifts to remember our visit to Windmill Island. We also stopped at a small greenhouse.
After our visit to Windmill Island, we were excited to attend the last of three Tulip Time Festival Parades in Holland, Michigan. We were lucky to find a place to park the car and a great spot to watch the parade right in front of a local TV station recording this extraordinary event.
©Rachel Madorsky