Canadian Tulip Festival finishes up with a show-stopping drone finale

Instead of fireworks in Ottawa Sunday night, 200 drones offered an aerial light-show tribute to the 100-year history of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Published May 20, 2024 • Last updated 23 minutes ago • 4 minute read

The Ottawa Tulip Festival officially closed Sunday with 200 multi-coloured drones putting on a show at Dow’s Lake, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Photo by Ken Warren /Postmedia

The Ottawa Tulip Festival flew boldly into the future in front of an estimated 35,000 spectators who circled Dow’s Lake late Sunday night.

A multi-coloured drone show, which replaced the longstanding Victoria Day weekend explosion of fireworks — partly due to funding cuts — was a huge hit for many, including the Pandya family: Anu and Jimish, their five-year-old son, Ansh, and two-year old daughter, Arvi.

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“It’s better than in the past,” said Anu of the display that paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. “There’s a bigger crowd (than in previous years). I think it is because of the drone show.”

As darkness arrived, 200 drones took to the skies in airplane-themed 3D displays, reflecting RCAF actions over the past century. There were visual descriptions of flying formations, a helicopter rescue mission and something special for the youngest in the crowd: Santa and his sled flying through the sky.

The drone show came as a pleasant surprise for the group of 31 air cadets from Strathroy, Ont., who had expected to see the tried-and-true fireworks display when the cadets originally planned their year-end trip to Ottawa.

“We recently found out about the drone show and the connection to the RCAF,” said Capt. Sarah Redfearn of the Air Cadets 3 Striker Squadron. “It’s an amazing night. We saw the Diefenbunker, the War Museum, the ByWard Market and on Monday we’re going to be going to the Aviation Museum.”

Sunday night’s drone show over Dow’s Lake celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Photo by Ken Warren /Postmedia

Lieut. Chris Redfearn said the connection to the 100th anniversary of the RCAF was a bonus, considering it’s also the 20th anniversary of the Strathroy Squadron.

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The festival ending played out well for Tulip Festival executive director Jo Riding, who needed to switch gears, improvise and cut staff due to reduced funding: $550,000 in contrast to $800,000 in previous years. The City of Ottawa and the Ontario government chopped their contributions in half, while the federal Canadian Heritage department contributed $50,000 of a requested $200,000.

Just the same, Riding estimated that 450,000 turned out for the 10-day festival.

The exhibition, putting a spotlight on the natural beauty of Ottawa, celebrates the gift of tulips that the Netherlands shipped to Canada in 1945 in appreciation of the key role of Canadian troops in the liberation of the country during the Second World War. It also commemorates the birth of Dutch Princess Margriet in Ottawa during the war.

The weather throughout the festival was excellent. The light and sound show, which also featured movies on a stage in Commissioners Park, was cancelled only once over the course of the festival due to rain.

While some of the tulips bloomed early due to mild spring temperatures, 80 per cent were still popping Sunday afternoon before the closing ceremonies. Riding said that’s a tribute to the National Capital Commission’s planning.

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As for the crowds, she compared them favourably to the best years of the festival.

“This is about the same as when we had fireworks in 2019,” she said. “There is no quiet place, nowhere to hide. It has been a wonderful show, absolutely. Thanks to Veterans Affairs (Canada), we can keep doing what we do. Without them, we might be up a tree.”

Looking at the bursting crowd, including families and the hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists in Commissioners Park and along Queen Elizabeth Drive, Riding was excited to see the numbers fully returning after the COVID-19 pandemic that shut everything down in 2020 and 2021. She also thanked the 525 volunteers who helped keep the show rolling.

“It’s great to see the difference that has happened from 2022, 2023 and 2024,” she said. “In 2022, everyone was still sort of in their own groups. 2023 was good, but nervous. In 2024, it has just been joyful abandon. People are really starting to relax and get back into a new normal.”

Families and friends gathered at Dow’s Lake in Ottawa Monday to enjoy some of the last tulips on the final day of the Tulip Festival. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Not everything was perfect. Parking in and around Dow’s Lake was a problem throughout the festival.
With construction on The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus expansion taking over the former parking lot at Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Preston Street, a prime parking spot was removed. The effort to find other options left some fuming, and many found tickets on their windshields after tiptoeing through the tulips.

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From May 10 to 14 alone, 395 tickets were issued — parking in no parking or no stopping zones, parking near fire hydrants, intersections or for blocking laneways — on Dow’s Lake Road, Crescent Heights, Old Sunset Boulevard, Madawaska Drive, Kippewa Drive, Charles Jackson Avenue and Frederick Place.

The festival set up a paid parking lot at Carleton University, with a park-and-boat option, which ferried spectators from Colonel By Drive to Commissioners Park. Riding said that system worked well and will return in 2025.
Given the positive reaction to Sunday’s drone-closing show, it, too us likely to return next year.

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Mena Attala, from Montreal, enjoys some tulips Monday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia