Sabrina Flores
Communications
Discover Albany
sabrina@relentlessaware.com
914.619.0312
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2022
#518TULIPTRACKER RETURNS FOR 2022, SELF-GUIDED TULIP & GARDEN TOUR LAUNCHED
ALBANY, N.Y. (April 25, 2022) – Discover Albany, the City of Albany’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Citizens and the City of Albany Department of General Services, have collaborated to bring #518TulipTracker back to Albany County for 2022. Albany’s annual Tulip Festival is returning in-person to Washington Park on May 7 and 8, but #518TulipTracker will celebrate tulip season throughout the months of April and May.
Using the hashtag #518TulipTracker, new blooming flowers will be featured across the city for “Tulip Tuesdays” over the next few weeks. Viewers can enjoy the self-guided Tulip & Garden driving tour available on Discover Albany’s website. The tour includes flowers at nearly 40 historic and heritage sites, attractions, and parks. Viewers are encouraged to share their own photos on social media using the hashtag as well.
Discover Albany is hosting a giveaway to encourage visitors and residents to embark on the self-guided Tulip & Garden driving tour! Participants are invited to visit five spots featured in the driving tour and a take a photo of the tulips at each spot. Email the five tulip photos and the corresponding locations to info@albany.org by Thursday, May 12 to be entered into a random drawing to win an Albany-themed prize!
“We are happy that #518TulipTracker has become an Albany spring tradition,” said Jill Delaney, President and CEO of Discover Albany. “We are absolutely thrilled for Tulip Festival to return in-person this year but are excited to continue to engage those both near and far virtually with #518TulipTracker.”
Discover Albany has also partnered with Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) for a “Tulips and Trolleys: A Tour of Historic Albany” tour on Wednesday, April 27 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Join Discover Albany’s Maeve McEneny-Johnson on the CDTA trolley for a historic tour. The tour will feature Albany’s history and the origins of Tulip Festival. Weather permitting, the tour will briefly disembark from the trolley to see the tulip beds in Washington Park. $20 tickets are available on Eventbrite.
Tulip Festival is a 72-year-old Albany tradition held every spring at Washington Park. Its origins date back to July 1, 1948 when Mayor Erastus Corning II passed a city ordinance declaring the tulip as Albany's official flower. In the spring of 1948, Albany officials asked Queen Wilhelmina of Holland to designate a variety of tulip to be Albany’s official flower. She chose the ‘Orange Wonder,’ a Mendel strain of tulip, now also known as the “The Tulip of Albany.” Shortly after, the Albany Common Council enacted an ordinance establishing a tulip celebration in the City and the first Tulip Festival was held in May 1949.
For more information about Discover Albany and to view Virtual Tulip Fest content, please visit albany.org.
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About Discover Albany. The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. Today, the organization is known as Discover Albany. Discover Albany currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. Discover Albany also operates the Discover Albany Visitors Center and the Albany International Airport Information Center. The Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation was established in 1993 to provide educational opportunities and work with other organizations to secure grants and funding to advance regional travel and tourism projects. For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org.