Art, music and 30,000 tulips in bloom this weekend

Robin Macy calls it a “Sunday drive for the soul.”

But those who take that 30-minute drive from Wichita to Belle Plaine’s Bartlett Arboretum this weekend will likely be rewarded with a little extra soul.

This weekend is the arboretum’s annual Art at the Arb event, featuring two days of live music and art under the garden’s natural tree canopy.

According to Macy, there will be 45 artists and more than 55 musicians at the arboretum, where the tulips are currently in bloom.

Admission is $5 at the door.

The event is held in conjunction with Belle Plaine’s Tulip Time Festival, which features a carnival, festival foods, a parade and more live entertainment.

The arboretum has held a special event for the blooming of its tulips for 99 years – with some interruptions, Macy said. “Tulip time” was sentimental for Glenn Bartlett, who planted the flowers in memory of his sister Maxine, who died in the 1918 flu pandemic.

In the past three decades, the city of Belle Plaine has hosted the Tulip Time Festival in tandem with the Bartlett Arboretum’s event.

There will be nearly 30,000 tulips in bloom this weekend at the bucolic arboretum, which kicks off its 2017 series of concerts and educational seminars with Art at the Arb.

There will be food trucks in attendance, including Lucianos, Freddy’s Frozen Custard, Lyons Den BBQ, Beautiful Day Cafe, Reverie Coffee Roasters and Lemon Lady.

For more information on the event and about Bartlett Arboretum, visit www.bartlettarboretum.com.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 8:26 PM with the headline "Art, music and 30,000 tulips in bloom this weekend."