Image: Botanica Tulip Festival / Chilliwack's Botanica Tulip Festival has had to abruptly close its fields and issue refunds due to weather events that adversely impacted its tulip fields in Greendale.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Botanica Tulip Festival

Chilliwack tulip festival abruptly closes fields, issues refunds

Apr 30, 2024 | 4:18 AM

CHILLIWACK — It had been touted as Canada’s first “carbon-negative” flower festival in which carbon had been captured and sequestered as part of an exhibition in sustainability.

But Chilliwack’s Botanica Tulip Festival has had to abruptly close its fields and issue refunds due to weather events that adversely impacted its fields in Greendale.

According to a Facebook statement from festival organizers dated Monday, April 29 at 3:53 p.m., staff behind the seasonal display of 1.5 million tulips pulled the plug on this year’s festival.

“This morning (Monday) we made the decision to close our tulip fields for the rest of the season due to some weather damage experienced over the weekend,” Botanica Tulip Festival wrote. “The current state of the fields means we can’t uphold our standards of offering our visitors the best experience possible.”

The closure means all ticket holders for visits scheduled from Saturday, April 28 through to Sunday, May 12 will receive full refunds. The festival asked reservation holders to check email inboxes for refund confirmation and further details in the coming days.

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Despite the shuttered fields, Botanica said its doors are open to the public this week with no entry fee.

“But hey, the fun isn’t totally over! Even without the tulips, our doors are still open this week, and there’s no entry fee. Swing by, grab a cup of joe from @thepalm__cafe, check out the farm store, chill in the picnic area, or take a spin on the Ferris wheel from Tuesday to Sunday,” Botanica wrote on Facebook.

Botanica hopes to reopen as soon as this fall for something else in the works, and pledged to reopen next year.

“We can’t thank you enough for all the love and support this season, even if it was a tad shorter than expected. We’ve had a blast hanging out with you all, sharing laughs, and making memories—big and small. We can’t wait to do it all over again next season (and perhaps even sometime this fall)!”

Botanica had a soft opening before officially welcoming visitors Friday, April 12 with plans to run through mid-May, before weekend weather derailed its efforts to showcase 59 tulip varieties interspersed across 13 panoramic acres in Greendale.