HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, May 10, 2025) – Heather Persch almost didn’t make it to Tulip Time on Saturday.
The Hope College graduate from Hudsonville was at State College, Pennsylvania on Friday for her daughter’s graduation from Penn State University, and she and her husband were initially thinking of skipping the Saturday morning reception at the Holland Area Arts Council building in which the winner of the 2025 Tulip Time Festival “Art in Bloem” People’s Choice Award would be announced. The 19 finalists in the First Bloem official poster competition that didn’t win the honor of being the official symbol of Holland’s annual signature event were displayed for attendees to choose their favorite.
However, Persch’s daughter convinced her parents to get to the Tulip City for this evening, so Persch’s husband drove all night to be in attendance. The artist was perhaps the most surprised person in the room when the HAAC’s Lorma Freestone announced her name and her work, “Gertrude’s Garden,” as the winner.
Persch’s work, as well as most of the other finalists, have already been sold.
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