4/26:The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has been extended through May 4! There are still acres of blooming tulips and even a few spots where tulips have yet to fully bloom. Flowers at the two display gardens, RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town, are in full force and will remain so through the end of the festival. Festival-related activites, including bike trips, boat tours and wine tasting, will continue as well. "Anybody who comes up will have a great time seeing tulips, and there's still plenty going on" says Festival Executive Director Cindy Verge.

4/18: As far as the gardens at RoozenGaarde are concerned... it looks like we are going to have tulips in bloom well into May. Right now the garden is showing lots of beautiful colors but we still have some late varieties that have yet to show any bloom. This should extend the season to the first weekend in May hopefully. ~ Everyone wants to know how the cold weather is affecting the flowers? At this point since most of the flowers are already showing a lot of color, the winter weather is only extending the bloom period. Its like putting them in an outdoor cooler.

4/15: The tulips are blooming! Check your tulip festival map ~ Fields 6,7,11,16,17,27,and 28 are starting to dazzle. If you don't have a map handy, these fields are located on La Conner-Whitney Rd, Mc Lean Rd, Calhoun Rd, and AvonAllen Rd. Take in the Tulips, Shop the La Conner Boutiques & Galleries, and Enjoy Fine Cuisine all in La Conner!

4/10: I drove all over the valley looking for blooming tulips this morning. Since they were on the front page of the Skagit Valley Herald yesterday, I figured I better see where they are for myself and I found them! The fields actually blooming (multiple fields of different colors) are at Tulip Town. The cost to park and enter Tulip Town is $5 for adults, 16 yrs and younger are free. Check back here for up-to-date Tulip Bloom Information! ~Marci Plank, La Conner Chamber Executive Director

4/1Keep your eye on the Bloom Map for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival daily bloom updates. The daff's are looking lovely, the tulips are starting to bloom, and the art shows are rolling! Be sure to check out the April Specials, Happenings & Events

La Conner Chamber of Commerce is here to make your Tulip Festival visit enjoyable. Please stop by our Visitor Information Center, 2nd block on your left as you enter town, or give us a call at 360.466.4778 ~ info@laconnerchamber.com. We can help you with room availability, dinner reservations, shopping guides, tours, and a friendly greeting. We welcome you to the village of La Conner.

Nothing sings Spring as beautifully as La Conner's Brilliant Daffodils! As our daffodil fields begin exploding with color, we invite you to experience the delightful magic of nature in the farmlands of La Conner & Skagit Valley.

Did you know that there are over 90 different crops grown in and around La Conner? AND, there are more tulip, iris and daffodil bulbs produced here than in any other county in the United States! Skagit County maintains one of the largest and most diverse agricultural communities west of the Cascade mountain range with Agriculture being the No. 1 industry. Local farmers produce about $261 million worth of crops, livestock, and dairy products.

Thousands of swans, snow geese and ducks are thankful for the habitat provided by our farmers. Also thankful are the thousands of visitors and locals who are in awe of the beauty of this valley.

Need some bright color in your nature palette this month? Welcome to La Conner ...... dance with the daffodils, dine with the ducks, and stay with the swans.

Would you like to be the first to know of upcoming Specials, Happenings, and Events in and around La Conner? La Conner's E-Newsletter is delivered to your in box monthly. Freshen Up Your Resources and Join Today! Just click on La Conner's E-Newsletter in the upper right-hand side of this page and subscribe.

The Museum of Northwest Art in cooperation with La Conner Merchants and Restaurants invite you to Shop & Dine in La Conner ~ MoNA Style! Saturday, March 1st starting at 10:00. Begin at the Museum of Northwest Art (free admission!) and buy directly from the Artists - Apparel, Jewelry, Accessories, & Home Decor. Feel great about your purchases as a portion of the sales benefits the programs & exhibits at MoNA. Leaving the museum, pick up your Shopping & Dining Guide for participating stores & restaurants and Stroll the Village of La Conner! Think Global, Shop Local.

Make Waterfront La Conner your Kissing destination this Valentines Weekend! Our wide array of lodging choices are offering romantic getaway packages. Our Fine Northwest Dining choices are offering special romantic dinners. Enjoy a relaxing spa treatment, take in the sculpture walk & shop the boutiques/galleries, view the current museum exhibits, walk the docks, sip some fine wine, take in the aroma of the salt water, listen to the snow geese, and melt into a slower pace. From The Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest....."Although this area is assuredly the Northwest destination during the tulip festival, every season blesses it with a romantic aura all its own". Online Reservations Here Be sure to check out February Specials.

What are you doing this weekend? How about taking a birding field trip, ending the day with Fine Northwest Cuisine, and then cozying up in a waterfront suite or an artistic guest house. La Conner is your watercentric birding getaway. Trumpeter and Tundra Swans migrate south from their summer homes in Alaska to the Skagit Valley. They peak in numbers around January with the majority returning home by the end of March. While out birding you will encounter the Snow Goose which is also white, much smaller and has black wing tips. Snow Geese gather in gigantic flocks of thousands in fields, and fly by thousands to the water around sunset. Their honking is thrilling to hear. Watch out for the Great Blue Herons who like to hang out next to irrigation ditches. Then look up to the tree tops to spy on Owls, Bald Eagles, and Hawks. You may also see the Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon and the Northern Harrier. Happy Birding Around La Conner! (Photo by Kirsten Morse)

Jennings Yarn & Needlecrafts wins the final week window display contest with The Little Village. The Village of La Conner is the place to shop for the Holidays! Where else can you shop at all locally owned boutiques and galleries? Think Global, Shop Local.

Bears N' Friends wins the third week La Conner Window Display Contest. La Conner's Vintage Holiday was enjoyed by all who visited! Peforming Arts, Lighted Boat Parade, Animated Window Displays, and beautiful lights everywhere! Come Visit La Conner during the Winter Holidays.

Childhood Bliss takes the prize this week for best animated window display. Vintage animated boy & girl decorate the tree. This circa 1950's window display brings on 20th century nostalgia as does the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland. The holiday is fast approaching! Find that special gift at one of La Conner's many locally owned boutiques and galleries. After your shopping, you will have many choices of outstanding Northwest Cuisine!

La Conner was packed Saturday Night for the annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade on the Channel. The Swinomish Yacht Club put on a show from the pink octupus to the huge rudolph nose to a brave dancer covered with Holiday Lights! Come Stroll the Waterfront Village of La Conner. Shop at Locally Owned Boutiques & Galleries, Dine at Chef Owned Restaurants, Explore Nationally Renowned Museums, and Rest~Renew~Refresh at one of our fine Lodging Choices! (Photo by Kirsten Morse)

Each week one La Conner Business will win the "Best Window Display of the Week" Award. We have a pair of local window shoppers working undercover to choose the best display each week. You may be able to spot these undercover volunteers if you happen to see the most adorable couple walking daily hand in hand. Nasty Jack's World Famous Antiques took the first week award with a Vintage Frosty the Snowman being decorated by children in motion, circa 1940. Come Stroll the Historic Waterfront Village of La Conner while taking in the Animated Holiday Display Windows and Lights!

We couldn’t resist a Turkey Picture and Story before Thanksgiving. Where did these La Conner Wild Turkeys come from anyway? Kris Schmaltz of La Conner has a good idea. A couple of months before the Wild Turkeys of La Conner showed up, Kris was given two 6 month old Wild Turkeys to release in their Sneehoosh area backyard filled with brush and food for the Wild Turkeys. Ansel Hyland, of Guemes Island, raised the Turkeys. The Wild Turkey eggs were in 28 days of incubation before they hatched. Ansel fed the turkeys for 6 months before giving them to Kris. These two turkeys were of the North America Eastern Wild Turkey variety. Wild Turkeys eat bugs, berries, grass shoots, and dandelions in the wild. If you would like to feed the wild turkeys to keep them around feed them corn and apples. The La Conner Wild Turkeys have been the town's official bird for the past three years...which has saved them from landing on a Thanksgiving table. Visit La Conner’s Wild Turkeys and start your Holiday Shopping at La Conner’s locally owned boutiques and galleries! Happy Thanksgiving! View Turkey Video (Photo by Kirsten Morse)

King 5 Evening Magazine visited La Conner last week via seaplane to cover the 23rd Annual Arts Alive Festival AND The Wild Iris Inn! The Wild Iris Inn of La Conner took first place as Western Washington's Best Bed & Breakfast. The Wild Iris Inn can be described as a small, intimate boutique hotel, country inn, romantic retreat, but certainly never ordinary. Located in downtown LaConner, Washington, the inn is a short four block walk to the Swinomish Channel and the unique boutiques & galleries on First Street & Morris Street. La Conner has a wide array of Lodging Options from Artistic Guest Houses to Waterfront Inns. Book a Room Today! La Conner...Small Town - Big Scene!

Excitement is growing in La Conner. Who will win eight whopping giveaways this fall? For instance, there’s a Feel Good Package, including fine dining, entertainment and spa visits or choices of getaway packages for girlfriends, families and romantics. There’s even a Wedding Package valued at $3,145. Monthly announcement of winners start in October. It’s easy to join the fun. Just click on La Conner Giveaway E-Mailing List and read prize details. Add your e-mail address. Then starting in January, you’ll receive a free newsletter updating you on events and happenings in your favorite getaway – the historical waterfront village with the landmark Rainbow Bridge.

Mark Conley of Seaside Gallery is one of the hosts welcoming visitors to La Conner’s Third Saturday Art Walk – between 4 and 8 p.m. Conley features new artists monthly. As you meander downtown, drop in at premier galleries, meet artists and view fresh displays of artwork. In this arts colony, just about everyone’s got art! You’ll find art exhibited in places as diverse as the La Conner Fruit & Produce Market and the La Conner Brewing Company. Just keep walking, there’s plenty to see along First Street. And when it’s time for a break, relax while sipping local wines, tasting delicious fare at an array of bistros or shopping for unusual merchandise in the boutiques.

Listen for the town crier proclaiming “Paint La Conner” as artists capture scenes of the Rainbow Bridge or views of the historical waterfront. Non-stop activity at Maple Hall includes 40 artists showing their work, demonstrations, shows, sales, auctions, and face painting for the kids. As you stroll downtown, stop at the Museum of Northwest Art and enjoy eclectic glasswork, international quilt displays at the La Conner Quilt museum or agricultural photos at the Skagit County Historical Museum. Premier galleries and boutiques offer browsing pleasure for art connoisseurs and for anyone appreciating beautiful objects.