Going Dutch In Michigan
Midwest Adventures By MIKE MICHAELSON
It was not by simple happenstance that the community that sits along the southeast shores of Lake Michigan took Holland as its name. It was settled by early immigrants from its namesake country and proudly embraces all things Dutch (including a windmill shipped over from the Netherlands) and packs a hefty section of the local telephone directory with "Vans." It also has a factory that makes wooden shoes and crafts folk who create the distinctive blue Delftware that is a Dutch tradition.
Then there are the "Dutch Dancers"---and the memorable sound of hundreds of wooden shoes pounding the pavement in unison.
Klompen dancing is a colorful part of Holland's annual "Tulip Time Festival" which begins the first Saturday of May each year and continues for eight days (this year May 1-8). Costumed dancers young and old whirl and twirl through Holland's scrubbed-clean streets as they recreate Dutch folk dances.
This year's 81st edition of this lively event is full of pageantry and entertainment, packed with history and tradition. This year, it attracts as headliners three Rock and Roll legends: The Coasters, the Drifters and the Platters. Holland also welcomes the multi-platinum award-winning band, Starship, starring Mickey Thomas, known for his soaring voice and soulful and compelling vocals. Also featured are fireworks, flower show, quilt show, trolley rides, kids' events, Dutch-language church services and outdoor concert events with beer tents.
One of the many unique festival experiences are performances by 1,300 "Dutch Dancers" dressed in authentic costumes and wearing wooden shoes as they show off their klompen talents.
Three parades travel the streets of downtown. The Volksparade features hundreds of Dutch-costumed townsfolk equipped with brooms and pails scrubbing the parade route clean---after a white-glove inspection by the mayor and city council. Kinderparade gives area school children and local marching bands a chance to showcase Holland's Dutch heritage. Muziekparade is the festival's grand finale. It features local and national marching bands, floats, giant helium parade balloons and another chance to watch the klompers strut their stuff.
If you're looking for genuine Dutch souvenirs, food, art and music you can find it at Dutch Marktplaats. Live entertainment also features local theater troupes and music groups, including barbershop quartets and a New Orleans-style jazz band.
Festivalgoers should be sure to visit Windmill Island Gardens, home to the oldest active windmill in the United States. Nelis' Dutch Village provides an in-depth look at the old country with demonstrations and specialty shops. Veldheer's Tulip Farm has more than 30 acres of tulips, a delftware factory and gift shop. The Holland Museum hosts various exhibits at three different locations.
Foodies will want to take the opportunity to sample Dutch fare. Try hutsput, Dutch stew with beef tips and gravy over potatoes mashed with carrots and onion, or gebraden gehakt (meatloaf sandwich). Locally popular is worst med boerenkool (Dutch smoked beef sausage served with potatoes mashed with bacon and kale and sweet red cabbage).
Nelis' Dutch Village is the place to learn all you ever wanted to know about the making of Delft. Interestingly, the cobalt blue coloring that distinguishes this famous Dutch product has its origins in Japan.
The windmills of Holland have a language of their own. Depending upon how the blades are positioned, the miller is able to tell the community whether or not the mill is open for business, if there has been a birth or death in the family. During World War II they told news of Jews, downed Allied flyers and others on the run.
One such windmill is De Zwaan (Dutch for "The Swan") that began life in Holland nearly 250 years ago. It was brought to Michigan in 1964 and is said to be the last authentic windmill to leave the Netherlands. Dutch law now prohibits the sale of windmills, since they are considered national monuments.
This graceful giant is a local landmark that is 12 stories high. During guided tours, visitors get a close-up look at the blades that are 40 feet long and six feet wide and weigh three tons. The story is that when the windmill is still, one of the employees has a noontime habit of perching himself on one of the blades as a scenic spot to eat lunch.
De Zwaan remains a working mill with a miller to operate it. Its product is whole-wheat graham flour, which is packaged into 2 lb. bags and sold at the concession building.
Windmill Island, lush and green and planted with pretty flowers (summer annuals once the tulips have run their short season), is surrounded by pastures where Frisian horses and cows graze. In addition to the historic windmill, the attraction has a museum, gift shops and a greenhouse. Washington Square is an historic area of shops and restaurants. It includes a branch of Crane's, a cider mill and pie bakery at Fennville (a bit south of Saugatuck) that is a "must" stop for in-the-know foodies traveling I-196.
If you go:
Information: Tulip Time Festival (800) 822-2770, www.tuliptime.com; Holland CVB
(800) 506-1299, www.holland.org.
Mileage: Holland is 170 miles northeast of Chicago.