Date: Mar 29, 2007

HOFSTRA CELEBRATES 24TH ANNUAL DUTCH FESTIVAL...

Sunday, May 6, 2007, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, HEMPSTEAD, NY : Hofstra University will celebrate its Dutch heritage at the Dutch Festival on Sunday, May 6, 2007, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (rain or shine). Hofstra's South Campus will feature thousands of tulips in bloom, face-painting, live music and dance entertainment, craft vendors and authentic Dutch food and beverages. Suggested admission is $3 per person, and parking is free.

For more information call the Dutch Festival Hotline at (516) 463-6582. For vendor information call Vivian Passuello at (516) 463-6504.

Dutch Festival History: In a memo written on January 30, 1984, Hofstra's then-President James M. Shuart proposed an "annual Dutch-oriented flower exhibition with programs and exhibits of Dutch culture, foods and crafts..."

More than two decades later, the Dutch Festival has evolved into one of the University's biggest and most popular events, attracting thousands of visitors to Hofstra the first Sunday of every May, rain or shine. Every year, when the weather is cooperative, the Dutch Festival boasts tens of thousands of tulips all over the South Campus. There are also food and craft vendors and a wide assortment of children's activities and live music and dance entertainment.

Before the first Hofstra Dutch Festival in May 1984, the University teamed up with Nassau County to present a two-day spring festival at Westbury Gardens in 1980. This weekend celebration also paid tribute to New York's Dutch heritage and featured tulips in bloom and performances by the Hofstra Music Department and rifle honor guard. Another important development for the Dutch Festival was the introduction of the Hofstra University Tulip. On October 3, 1985, Dr. Cornelius Boertien, commissioner for the Queen of the Netherlands to the Province of Zeeland, formally designated and presented to Hofstra the first bulbs of this flower hybrid named for the University. It has since become a spring staple for the Hofstra Arboretum.

For more information on the 24th annual Dutch Festival, call the Hofstra Festival Hotline at (516) 463-6582.

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