By Danielle Lee

The sixth annual Festival of Tulips began Saturday, March 5 at the American Village in Montevallo. The festival will run through the month of March.

The Festival is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Pete Walker, who has worked at the Festival of Tulips since it began, does not have a hard time picking his favorite part of the event.

“The beauty of the flowers really; they’re just beautiful when they all bloom out… and the people we get to meet and talk to,” said Walker.

Jean McPherson’s friends convinced her to come to her first Festival of Tulips this spring. She enjoyed her visit, although she worried she might not have what it takes to care for the tulips.

“I’m taking them to a lady in the nursing home… because I’ll kill them at home,” McPherson said.

Admission to the festival is $5 per person, with free admission offered to veterans, active military members and children under four. Attendees pick their own tulips and bulbs, which cost $2 apiece. American Village also offers a care sheet with each purchase.

Updates for the festival can be found at American Village’s Tulip Watch.