The annual Orange City Tulip Festival Extravaganza was held Wednesday, March 19, at Prairie Winds Event Center. The event featured a luncheon and program during which the costumes for the 2025 Tulip Queen and Court were revealed and the 2025 parade marshal was introduced.
The 2025 Tulip Court is proud to be wearing the authentic costume from Spakenburg, in the Utrecht Province. Spakenburg is a fishing village located in a harbor north of Amsterdam.
The most iconic part of the Spakenburg costume is the ‘kraplap’. The kraplap is a starched rectangular cotton chintz fabric with a narrow-slit cut in the middle, worn over the shoulders. When bent, the hole opens for the wearer’s head. Kraplaps are bright in color, featuring floral patterned designs, making all of them different and unique!
The kraplap is worn together with a checkered scarf that is white stripes on a red cotton fabric. The shape of the kraplap over the shoulders is made and kept in place by white twill tape.
The kraplap is worn over a plain black bodice with plaid sleeve caps pinned with gold safety pins. The fabric on the sleeves matches the plaid apron worn over a black skirt. The skirt also features horizontal pleating in the front and back. The everyday costume has a long plaid apron with wide folds in the waistband. Queen Jaeyle has the formal version of the apron, with a wide plaid band over her waist.
The costume also includes an underskirt or slip, which is typically striped, either red and white (like our court), black and white, or a combination of red, black and white (like our queen!)
The Spakenburg hat is a starched white lace with black lining worn at the back of the head and kept in place with gold hatpins. Each court member has a cloth purse called a zijzak, which is worn under the apron and skirt, but over the underskirt.
The girls are also wearing gold filigree earrings and bracelets. The everyday court costume is worn with wooden shoes. The queen’s costume may be worn with wooden shoes or black dress shoes.
