Tulip Festival (Albany, New York)

[1] The festival originated as a result of Albany becoming sister-cities with Nijmegen in the Netherlands following World War II.

In addition, he sent a request to Queen Wilhelmina to name a varietyof the flower as Albany's tulip.

On July 11, 1948, her reply was "Her Majesty gladly accepts the invitation to designate a tulip as the official flower of Albany."

She picked the variety "Orange Wonder", a slow-growing and relatively rare 18-inch tall tulip that is orange-shaded with a scarlet toward the center.

[3] The festival commences with the ceremonial scrubbing of State Street by students in traditional Dutch dress.

A photographer taking in the floral scene at the Tulip Fest, 2009