Spring is here - and we're excited to bring an entire month of Tulip Fairy & Elf Celebrations to our community. Dust off those fairy wings and elf hats (or whatever other costumes that have been tucked away since Halloween) and head downtown anytime April 1 - 30, 2021 to help wake up and welcome the Pearl Street Mall's beautiful tulips, enjoy family-friendly activities and earn prizes!
Don't forget your mask as you enjoy our socially-distanced activities downtown - and tune in virtually on Sunday, April 18th at 4 pm for the annual Jeff & Paige Wake Up the Bear show (registration and details below).
Presenting Sponsor:
Don't forget: On Saturdays and Sundays year-round, parking is FREE in all City of Boulder garages!
Tulip Fairy & Egg Hunt
Come downtown dressed in your Fairy or Elf best to wake-up the famous Pearl Street Mall Tulips - and go on a Scavenger Hunt for FREE prizes! Choose from one of five kid-friendly scavenger hunts below and get hunting!
As you work your way through the clues, you'll scan the QR codes on the Fairy image found near the entrance of each location to be directed to your next clue. Kids are invited to stop in the stores and let them know you are hunting to receive a FREE prize at every participating business. East End, Broadway and West End hunts also include a FREE Fairy Wand at one location (quantities limited - while supplies last), and all hunts include a grand prize...a FREE Downtown Boulder Coloring Book with a pack of crayons at the final stop of each hunt (while supplies last).
Select your area of choice below for additional details on how the game works and your first clue! A simple one-sheet with all of the clues for every hunt is also available.
HUNT PEARL STREET MALL - WEST SIDE
Jeff & Paige "Wake Up the Bear" Livestream
Sunday, April 18 | 4 pm
With safety measures being the utmost important, our annual events continue to be modified for the time being, but we couldn't let the season go by without bringing you Jeff & Paige's annual, "Wake Up the Bear" performance!
Join us as we welcome the bears out of hibernation and into spring. Costumes, educational skits, 100% original music, an animated fairy emcee, and loads and loads of kid participation. The performance includes a facilitated 5 min. "Make Your Own nature Wand" craft mid-show. To participate in the craft gather these materials ahead of time:
- A wand-like stick
- Masking tape
- Found nature items to decorate your wand (i.e. feather, dead leaf, dry grass, etc)
Free and open to everyone thanks to:
Traveling Tulip Fairy & Expedition Elf
Instructions for playing the game (also included on the PDF downloads):
- Download the Traveling Tulip Fairy or Expedition Elf (below)
- Color in your Tulip Fairy or Elf with all the springtime colors you can think of
- Invite your Tulip Fairy or Expedition Elf along with you and a grown-up as you head downtown to go on some adventures together - be sure to stop by the Tulip Fairy Queen on the 1400 block of Pearl Street near the Bear Hugs sculpture for a photo op!
- If you swing by the Visitor Information Center (open Saturday & Sunday, 12 - 4) and show them your Traveling Tulip Fairy or Expedition Elf, they'll give you a FREE wand (while supplies last).
We'd love to see your photos! Share on social media and tag @DowntownBoulder #LoveTheLocal #TulipFairy2021 or email them to us.
See the Tulips on Pearl Street
The Tulip Fairy & Elf Celebration is all about the gorgeous tulips that are planted each year along the Pearl Street Mall. The tradition started in the late 70s, when Boulder’s then sister city, Meppel, Holland would send 5,000 tulip bulbs annually to be planted along the Mall. A form of this tradition continues to this day when every fall the City of Boulder’s Parks Department plants 15,000 brand new tulip bulbs that are imported directly from Holland. With some help from Mother Nature over the winter months, the tulips start to peek out of the ground sometime between late March and early April.
We invite you not to miss the gorgeous display in-person, but check out our Tulip Gallery for a sneak peak at what you'll find on the Pearl Street Mall this spring. If this year you will be admiring from afar, follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram for continual doses of beautiful tulip images!
Coloring Sheets
Did you know that there are over 4,000 different kinds of tulips? You can find tulips in almost every color imaginable!
We hope this inspires some creative coloring with these five custom designed Downtown Boulder coloring sheets. The sheets are also included in our Downtown Boulder Coloring Book - free to every participant who completes our Tulip Fairy & Egg Scavenger Hunt (while supplies last).
Presented by: