Orange City’s 2027 Tulip Festival is taking shape with the announcement of five Tulip Court members and the selection of Come From Away as next year’s Night Show musical.
Emily Oordt, Hazel Simmelink, Elizabeth Vaas, Ayva Van Schouwen, and Emma Weber will serve on the court for the 86th annual festival, scheduled for May 13–15, 2027.
The Queen’s Crowning Event will be held November 23, when one of the five court members will be crowned the 2027 Tulip Festival Queen. The queen and court will serve as ambassadors for the festival.
Meet the 2027 Tulip Court
This year’s court members bring experience in school leadership, athletics, music, church activities, and festival traditions. Following are brief introductions, with information provided by the festival:
- Emily Oordt, daughter of Eric and Rachelle Oordt, serves as student body president, an FFA vice president, and a Living Group leader. She also participates in basketball, band, and her school’s chapel praise team. Her festival involvement includes Dutch dancing, marching band, and Dutch Dozen. She is considering agricultural business or agricultural education.
- Hazel Simmelink, daughter of Tyler and Maria Simmelink, participates in band, choir, large group speech, dance team, track and field, and student council. She enjoys pickleball, reading, and spending time with friends and family. Her past festival activities include Dutch dancing, street scrubbing, the mode show, and marching band. She plans to attend a four-year college to study social work and Spanish.
- Elizabeth Vaas, daughter of Don and Michelle Vaas, participates in cross country, track, band, color guard, speech, and student council, and is a National Honor Society member. Her festival involvement includes Dutch dancing, marching with the Pride of the Dutchmen color guard, planting tulip bulbs, and making poffertjes at the Little White Store. She hopes to attend Northwestern College and pursue nursing.
- Ayva Van Schouwen, daughter of Matt and Karen Van Schouwen, participates in golf and serves as a Living Group leader and class officer. She enjoys cooking, traveling, spending time outdoors, and working as a certified nursing assistant. Her festival experience includes Dutch dancing, operating stands, riding parade floats, and parade cleanup. She plans to attend Dordt University to major in business finance and minor in kinesiology.
- Emma Weber, daughter of Jared and Sarah Weber, has participated in MOC-Floyd Valley athletics, student council, speech, musicals, choir, and band. She works at the Orange City pool and Joie Floral Design. Her festival experience includes Night Show productions, Dutch dancing, and the Pride of the Dutchmen color guard. She plans to study psychology at Iowa State University, with minors in social work and Spanish, and hopes to become a pediatric psychologist.
“Come From Away” Selected for Night Show
The Tulip Festival Steering Committee announced September 11 that Come From Away will be the 2027 Night Show production.
Performances will run Monday, May 10, through Saturday, May 15, beginning ahead of the three-day festival and continuing through its final evening.
Todd Vande Griend will direct the production. Susan Henrich will serve as producer, Kim Miller as vocal director, and Drew Lemke as band director.
Information about auditions, performance times, tickets, and other details will be announced in the coming months. The production will be presented through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International.
Festival news and event information are available at octulipfestival.com.
