The beautiful blooms are ready in Pella. But, the cold, wet weather makes it feel more like winter than the beginning of May. Tulip Time runs through Saturday in Pella. Unfortunately the weather isn’t cooperating. Organizers cancelled Thursday afternoon’s parade and entertainment. But, visitors are still enjoying a touch of Holland.

Bundle up and pack your umbrella. Kate Van Wijck is in town from the Netherlands and says something in Dutch. She says, “It means dog weather. It doesn’t really mean anything in English. It means it’s really, really cold and we don’t like it.”

She brought 15 Dutch high school students to Pella. Student Merel Bos says, “We went to America because we are doing an English course in school.”

They’re visiting central Iowa schools, businesses, and of course tulip time. Van Wijck says, “Lots of things we see here at tulip time, we don’t see at home anymore, so it’s fun for them to see history of Holland through somebody else’s eyes.”

Many people were bundled up in hats and gloves, but there is something new this year you can enjoy indoors. Milly Vande Kieft says, “We wanted sunny weather, but it just so happens we have something to do when it’s rainy.”

Inside the Pella Memorial Building, you’ll find Dutch demos. For five dollars, visitors sample sweet Dutch treats and volunteer to dress like a Dutchman. Vande Kieft says, “It brings back our heritage and for those of us, the people who are not Dutch, I am, but we’re all Dutch at Tulip Time.”

Bos says they’re enjoying the a touch of Holland, despite the weather. She says, “You have all the tulips, and the buildings and the mills, yeah, I like it.”

The Dutch Demos are 9 and 10 a.m. through Saturday.