After a long winter on the North Fork, glimmers of bright colors from blue skies, returning robins, budding trees and green grass are a welcome sight. At the Weiss family’s Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden’s Riverhead and Manorville locations, that color-wheel vibrance is at an especially all-time high.
From mid-April to early May, the fields here are full of more than three million tulips for the annual Waterdrinker Tulip Festival, offering farm visitors a glimpse into Dutch culture on Long Island’s East End.
“You come out of hibernation to this breathtaking, expansive, colorful [festival],” says Brittney Weiss. “It really is so beautiful.”
Bulbs before blooms
At Waterdrinker, preparation for the spring festival begins Nov. 1, when Dutch-imported bulbs are planted using a machine that automates the process, laying specific patterns that comprise nearly 40 different varieties, including yellow, red and purple, striped versions and some with frayed petals.
“To put it simply, the machine digs a hole, funnels the bulb down and drops them into each hole one by one, then covers the hole and bulb in one pass,” explains Brittney who, along with her husband Marc, manages the farms at both properties.
During the winter the bulbs become dormant but begin to grow in February and March. In April, the flowers poke out of the ground and start to bloom. Typically, they peak around April 18 to May 5.
“It really is up to Mother Nature,” says Brittney. “If we get a really hard rain that could hurt. If it’s colder, they last a little longer. If it’s really warm, they go a little faster.”
And then there are other factors that can affect timing. In November 2019, more bulbs were planted in Manorville to get ready for the festival’s second year. Unbeknownst to Brittney and Marc, COVID regulations would cancel the event in April 2020.
Fortunately, Waterdrinker’s gorgeous floral display on Wading River Road still served as a source of positivity for visitors who drove past during those uncertain times.
“It actually worked out, not so much for ticket sales but for morale,” says Brittney.
Bringing Holland home
Kirk Weiss Sr., Marc’s father, had an unspoken dream to open a tulip farm on Long Island. He only told his family once the fields became theirs in 2018; Waterdrinker’s first Long Island Tulip Festival was held the following year.
What started with 300,000 tulips in Manorville — and, in 2023, followed by the purchase of the former Garden of Eve property in Riverhead — grew into the full-fledged two-farm festival that now exists.
But before buying the Manorville farm, the Weiss family visited the storied bulb-growing regions of the Netherlands to see the long-beloved vast tulip and spring flower fields for themselves.
Tulip bulbs were brought to the Netherlands from Central Asia in the mid-16th century. Less than 100 years later, the flower was at the center of a speculation-led boom, their prices skyrocketing to more than the cost of a house during a period in the 1630s fittingly dubbed Tulip Mania.
While not nearly as expensive or heavily traded now, “that whole tulip craze is very much alive,” says Marc. “There’s something about seeing a huge sea of colors.”
Marc and Brittney Weiss manage the two farms. Long Island Farm Brewery head brewer Brian Smith pours out a pilsner. (Photo credit: Doug Young)
The Weiss’s took no small amount of aesthetic vision from Keukenhof in Lisse, Netherlands, one of the world’s most famous flower gardens and an inspiration for many tulip festivals worldwide. In 1950, Keukenhof’s spring park opened for the first time after a group of leading bulb growers and exporters organized an exhibition of spring flowering bulbs on the estate, attracting over 200,000 visitors.
Today, preparing for spring in Keukenhof is a year-round operation during which seven million flower bulbs are planted by hand and tulips and Dutch windmills are regarded as major attractions.
“Behind every flower lies a world of knowledge and precision,” Keukenhof organizers say. “Our growers and gardeners design, plant, test and perfect every detail. Each bulb receives careful attention and every color is meticulously chosen. Throughout the year, we work on the design, the soil, the planting and the maintenance. The results are only revealed in spring, but the craftsmanship can be felt in every corner of the park.”
The barnyard and the beer
It’s more than just flowers at Waterdrinker’s tulip festival. There are activities for the history buff in the fam to enjoy, fun for kids and even special Tulip-Fest-only sips for adults hankering for a refreshing spring brew.
In the past, the Manorville farm had a tulip tunnel museum set in an old greenhouse with infographics about Tulip Mania. This year, they’re revamping the space to include a new tulip-themed display.
Both Waterdrinker farms have jumbo jump pads, mini golf and barnyard animals. In Manorville, children can check out chickens, emus, peacocks and pigs; Riverhead is home to goats, bunnies and tortoises.
The Amsterdam Walk Through, made up of small children’s playhouses with facades inspired by that northern Netherlands capital, prop bicycles and informational tulip resources for supervising parents are an entertaining treat for all.
Each weekend at Waterdrinker there’s live music from bands and other acoustic performers, food from various rotating food trucks and the onsite Long Island Farm Brewery’s Tulip Fest Dutch Pilsner, brewed specifically for the event.
“All of the beers are amazing but this Dutch pilsner is light, it’s refreshing, it’s a great springtime beer,” says Marc, whose brothers Joseph and Kirk Jr., along with Nick Giuffre, own Long Island Farm Brewery, located near Waterdrinker’s Manorville entrance. “For people who get dragged to the tulip festival that don’t necessarily like tulips, there’s something for everyone.”
Head brewer Brian Smith was brought on to Waterdrinker when the brewery opened in 2021.
“When we finally got all the ducks in a row, we started brewing beers, getting ready for opening,” Smith says. “The first time that I had ever been [at the farm] on a busy weekend, right before the brewery itself opened, was during the Tulip Festival. I remember driving up and thinking, ‘Oh man, we’re gonna need to brew more beer.’”
Smith describes the Tulip Fest pilsner as crisp, with a slightly earthy hops profile and light floral flavor. Since it’s a lager and needs more time to brew and age, the process of making the festival’s special beer begins in the winter.
“Just like the tulip bulbs are sitting in the field planting their roots and getting ready to sprout, those beers are sitting in the tanks aging up getting refined to perfection,” Smith explains. “Right at the end of April, when spring is in full swing and the flowers are coming up, we release this beer.”
Flower Power
If you’re interested in the festival, keep refreshing Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden’s website for exact dates, as they’re weather-dependent every year. Tickets for the Manorville farm are $20 online and can be used any weekday in the event of bad weather. Weekend tickets are sold at the gate. Riverhead tickets are also $20 online and can be used any day of the week in the event of inclement conditions. Children under two are free.
If you want to bring some of the fun home, U-Pick tulips are $1 per stem.
“The Tulip Festival reflects what Waterdrinker is all about,” Brittney says. “Celebrating agriculture, creating memorable experiences and welcoming families, photographers and visitors of all ages to enjoy something beautiful together.”
Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden locations are 663 Wading River Road, Manorville and 4560 Sound Ave., Riverhead. Check water-drinker.com for more details.
