2020: The year the bulbs went out at Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

April 24, 2020 at 6:10 pm

Masked and keeping their distance from each other, workers pick the remaining tulips in the fields north of Fir Island Road in the Skagit Valley on Friday afternoon. The annual Skagit Tulip Festival was canceled this year to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

The North Cascade Mountains loom in the distance as tulip pickerswork in the otherwise empty, vast flower fields north of Fir Island Road in the Skagit Valley on Friday. Tulip growers are selling the flowers to wholesalers and shipping bouquets nationwide, but the loss to the local economy is significant. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

Many businesses in downtown La Conner are closed with warnings posted along the sidewalks. Normally bustling this time of year with visitors to the Tulip Festival, the area has shut down due to coronavirus. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

The wares of Roozengaarde Flower and Bulbs in Mount Vernon put on their yearly show. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

Usually packed with cars and tourists at this time of year, the Roozengaarde Flower and Bulbs parking lot along the Beaver Marsh Road in Mount Vernon sits empty. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

A tractor rig picks tulips nobody could come to see in the Skagit Valley on Friday afternoon. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

The sign at Roozengaarde Flower and Bulbs along the Beaver Marsh Road in Mount Vernon sums up the spring tourist season, shut down to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. “Washington state Governor Jay Inslee has asked us all to do our part to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. Following these recommendations, we have made the difficult decision to close our display garden and flower fields to the public until further notice,” reads a statement on the company’s website. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

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Mike Siegel

Seattle Times staff photographer

Skagit Valley’s annual crowd-pleasing tulip festival was canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. See what the tulip fields and surrounding areas look like this year.

Mike Siegel: msiegel@seattletimes.com;

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