HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – It appears that the lure of the tulip is stronger than the words of the Mayor in Holland.
Last week, Nathan Bocks created a video asking that visitors not come to the Tulip City this spring to see the star of Holland’s annual signature event, saying that there aren’t enough facilities to accommodate guests during the COVID 19 restrictions placed by Governor Whitmer, and that “social distancing” could not be guaranteed or enforced. While tour buses are not present this week, a number of vehicles with out-of-state license plates have been spotted in the downtown district, even though the 91st Tulip Time Festival was canceled until 2021.
“It was a really hard message to send,” said City Manager Keith Van Beek on “WHTC Talk of the Town” during his monthly appearance on Thursday. “We’re monitoring everything very closely, and we’ve seen situations across the nation and around the world where maybe people came out too quickly and then it caused some other problems, so we certainly didn’t want to have that situation here.”
Van Beek added that most of the local residents have adhered to the safety guidelines put forward by the state during the pandemic.
