Holland has a large percentage
of citizens of Dutch American heritage, many who still practice forms
of the Dutch Reformed faith brought by the original settlers. The
city is best known for its Tulip Time Festival, the nationally-recognized
downtown, and its rich Dutch history.
Holland is home to the
world's largest pickle factory. The H.J. Heinz Company has operated
the factory at the same location since 1897 and currently processes
over 1 million pounds of pickles per day during the green season.
Holland's downtown is listed
in the National Register of Historic Places. The "Snowmelt Project"
established pipes transporting warm water from the nearby power plant
to travel underneath downtown with the purpose of clearing the streets
and sidewalks in the downtown area of any snow.
Each May Holland hosts
an annual Tulip Time Festival. Tulip planting and the festival began
in 1930 when 250,000 tulips were planted for the event. Currently
six million tulips are used throughout the city. Tulips are planted
along many city streets, in city parks and outside municipal buildings
as well as at tourist attractions like Dutch Village, the city-owned
Windmill Island park, and at a large tulip farm named Veldheer Tulip
Gardens.