Lang zal hij lazen

Leah Blankespoor
Apr 19, 2017
2 min read

Lang zal hij lazen...

lang zal hij lazen...

lang zal hij lazen in de gloria

In de gloria in de gloria!

Heep heep *hoorah*

heep heep *hoorah*

If you know me quite well, you know that Tulip Time and my birthday have gone hand in hand literally since the day I was born. My earliest memories are of donning my matching Marken costume to my sister, wearing my wooden shoes, and being sung this Dutch celebration and blessing song.

As I just accepted my first full time job, I have gotten questions from various people asking why I chose Event Management as the field I wanted to work in.

I'd say my birthday and Tulip Time are major factors in God opening up my eyes to this profession.

Some kids feel awkward on their birthday as friends and family watch them open presents, sing to them, and blow out candles all while being photographed. I loved this. I loved having the control to create my guest list, choose the menu, pick the theme, etc. In fact for my golden birthday (when I turned six) my mom asked me what kind of party I wanted. I said that I wanted a surprise birthday party, which was extremely controlling of me and honestly quite absurd. Who asks for their own surprise birthday party?! Regardless my mom pulled it off and made it happen. Other years were themes of "Camp Friendship", High School Musical, a luau, etc. What they all had in common though, was, that my birthday most likely was during Tulip Time. I can't imagine one without the other.

As Tulip Queen of Pella Iowa, I got a firsthand look of how Tulip Time runs. I fell in love with tourism, event planning, networking, and hosting thousands of tourists in our beautiful village. Student council, being social chair of our Theater Troupe, as well as helping with prom were also factors. But during this season of my life I truly and deeply found a love of putting on events for others to enjoy.

In an interview for the local paper, I was actually called a "control freak" which at the time took me aback. Yes, being an event planner requires an amount of control to execute an event well. But I never want to seem so into a task that I am not fully engaged with the event I am planning and enjoying it as it unfolds.

So as my 21st birthday is right around the corner, here are some classic photos of my birthday events of previous years. This year I plan to walk in the parade with my royal court, ride the parade of provinces float for the first time, and host college friends for the Dutch festivities (for some it's their first Tulip Time). I will celebrate my 21st in the local Peanut Pub while wearing my Dutch costume from my year of royalty surrounded by friends. I honestly can't think of a better way to celebrate.

Yes, this last photo of me crying because it is not my birthday. You will be happy to know that the love of wearing a crown while opening presents and eating cake has lived on throughout the years.