HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Holland’s annual signature event needs some financial help.
During a virtual press briefing on Thursday, Tulip Time Festival Executive Director Gwen Auwerda said that, due to the March cancellation of the May 2-10 festivities because of the COVID 19 outbreak, the festival took a nearly $500,000 financial hit. Through cash on hand, a Go Fund Me fundraising effort, and securing grants and loans, the non-profit entity was able to absorb those costs, but with only $21,600 on hand, Auwerda said that the festival would run out of money by the end of August, so an effort to raise a million dollars is underway.
“We have to continue on the fundraising bandwagon, and work now with our local community and individual donors, to get us to the point where we can plan a festival for 2021,” Auwerda said.
Because of the financial situation, along with the uncertainty over “herd immunity” on COVID 19, Auwerda mentioned that the festival can’t make too many future plans for 2021 other than “going back to basics” and building back up from there. Any final decisions won’t be made until the first of the year, and Auwerda added that, if the million dollars needed isn’t raised by the first of May of 2021, “We would be forced to close our doors.”
The fundraising page is at GoFundMe: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/tuliptime?fbclid=IwAR3-70q3fSIQNLYetv6rDj0jtswLELOIjOXmzd9YstAB9xeLtpfzyuc_kMs
