A new community event, titled Tulip and Maples: Dutch-Canadian Liberation Celebration, will be taking place in Brantford from April 30, to May 5, 2026.
The initiative is being held as a way to not only commemorate the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian forces during the Second World War, but to celebrate the lasting friendship between Canada and the Dutch.
Will Prinzen, chair of Tulips and Maples, said the idea for the event came together after he visited the Netherlands with his father and brother last year.
“My mom is from the Holten area and in Holten there is a Canadian War Cemetery. There are 1,394 people buried there, the majority of which are Canadians, though there are some British too,” he said. “Last year was the 80th anniversary of the Netherlands’ liberation and when I was there, I met a father and son on the bus whose grandfather was in the war, but he had pneumonia and couldn’t make the trip from Burlington. That moment, as well as some other things that happened in Holten, kind of got me thinking, ‘how could we make something happen here?’ I came back and started to talk to Bob Ion from the Canadian Military Heritage Museum and secured the location.”
Prinzen soon began getting in touch with different musicians and putting out various calls, and what started out as a small idea has now blossomed into a community-wide initiative involving local organizations, businesses, artists and international connections.
“I had kept in touch with a band that was playing in Holten, they’re called Cash ‘n More, and they were playing downtown Holten during Liberation Day on May 5, and they’ve decided to take a trip to Brantford to play for us,” he said. “I really wanted to use music as part of the celebration, so I created some songs with some assistance, and Paige Warner, who is from Owen Sound, is going to be coming to the event and she’s going to be performing some of these songs as well.”
On top of music being a large part of the event, Prinzen also wanted to incorporate theatre.
“Brant Theatre Workshop saw something about Tulips and Maples on Facebook,” he said. “As it turns out, they were already working with the Brant Historical Society on doing a deep dive on the Dutch for this year’s ‘Memories of Immigrant Communities’ project, so they’ve joined in on this as well.”
As far as what to expect from Tulips and Maples, it all starts from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, at the Canadian Military Heritage Museum with a free preview of Brant Theatre Workshop’s Herinnering.
Written by Vincent Ball, with songs by Prinzen, the play centres around the Liberation of the Netherlands and the Dutch famine of the mid 1940s.
Friday, May 1 from 4 to 8:30 p.m. is the Dutch-Canadian Liberation Celebration and gala dinner at the Canadian Military Heritage Museum.
The gala runs from 4 to 7 p.m. and will feature keynote speaker Jason van Bruggen (presenting insights from his film 80 Years of Freedom), a musical performance by Paige Warner. Dutch Consul General Marjan Schippers is also expected to be in attendance. A limited amount of seating is available, and interested parties should contact celebrate@tulipsandmaples.com for ticket pricing and more information.
Following dinner is the free opening night performance of Herinnering, which will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The next day, Saturday, May 2, is the free Freedom in Bloom Festival.
Taking place outside of the Canadian Military Heritage Museum from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., the event is expected to have food, beer, spirits, vendors, games (including Spijkerpoepen and Sjoelbak), children’s activities and crafts, and a 2 p.m. performance of Herinnering. The Brantford Poppy Project will also be onsite.
Music will be taking place throughout the entirety of the event including performances from Brantford Pipes and Drums, Reuben Costa, the Shake D Band, Paige Warner and Cash ‘n More.
It should be noted that Greenwich Street, between Murray and Mohawk Streets will be closed in one direction for safety reasons. Traffic flow will be east to west on the north side of Greenwich Street.
With that being said, Heron Head Bikes will be renting out a limited number of bikes, and attendees are encouraged to embrace the Dutch way, and bike to and from the event.
On Sunday, May 3, the Canadian Military Heritage Museum will be open all day for self-guided tours and quiet reflection. Admission by donation.
Noting that he still can’t quite believe that the whole event took off from a simple idea, Prinzen said he’s looking forward to seeing everything pan out.
“It’s funny what happens when you start working on stuff, start talking and networking with people,” he said. “He really sort of just took off and people have just been jumping in and supporting it, it’s great. I’ll admit, I’m nervous as heck, but it’s coming together.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
