Windmill Island extends season, hosts Touch a Truck at Fall Fest

Windmill Island Gardens is closing out a record-setting 2025 season with extended hours and a starring role in one of West Michigan’s most anticipated autumn celebrations: the Downtown Holland Fall Fest.

General Manager Matt Helmus says the city park began the year with ideal blooms and perfect weather during May’s Tulip Time festival, drawing nearly 100,000 visitors that month. 

Attendance stayed strong through September, pushing the total guest count toward an expected 180,000, surpassing the 2023 record of 146,248.

“While these last five seasons have been the five biggest in our history, 2025 is by far our banner year to date,” Helmus says. 

More than 12,000 additional visits came from garden members, local residents, and schoolchildren.

To keep the momentum going, Windmill Island Gardens will remain open on weekends through Oct. 19, though daily operations will pause Oct. 5. Admission drops to $5 for adults and remains free for children, as staff members begin planting next season’s tulip beds and offering hayrides and demonstrations.

Fall Fest returns

The Downtown Holland Fall Fest returns Friday, Oct. 3, and Saturday, Oct. 4, inviting the community to “celebrate everything there is to love about fall,” says Downtown Holland Marketing Coordinator Kara de Alvare. 

Hosted in partnership with the Holland Farmers Market, Tulip Time, and Windmill Island Gardens, the festival features professional pumpkin carving, children’s activities, hayrides, an artisan market, a Touch a Truck event, and more. Support comes from Courtyard Marriott and Fris Supply Shop.

Festivities begin Friday with Community Tulip Planting from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Window on the Waterfront, where volunteers can help plant 75,000 bulbs for the 2026 Tulip Time festival, which will be May 1–10. Tulip planting continues Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Fall Fest Artisan Market takes place inside the Holland Civic Center Place on Friday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring more than 65 local artisans selling handcrafted jewelry, home décor, artwork, clothing, and specialty foods.

On Saturday, the Holland Farmers Market will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring fresh apples, pumpkins, gourds, and seasonal produce. Children can enjoy $1 pumpkin painting, free barrel rides, and fall-themed games, while professionally carved pumpkins will be displayed throughout the market.

Windmill Island Gardens introduces its first Touch a Truck event Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Families can explore construction vehicles and emergency equipment up close, meet the drivers, and tour the park’s Dutch attractions, including the historic DeZwaan windmill and carousel. Hayrides around the island cost $1.

The festival highlight is the professional pumpkin carving along 8th Street and GDK Park. Nationally recognized artists, including Food Network veterans Chad Hartson, Danny Kissel, Dean Murray, Greg Butauski, Greg Demaline, and Disney’s “Foodtastic” winner Maryse Swanson, will sculpt giant pumpkins Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. 

Visitors can enjoy street performers on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and sample drinks within the Downtown Holland Social District, open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

After Fall Fest, Windmill Island Gardens will prepare for its fourth annual Magic at the Mill holiday light show, transforming the park with thousands of lights, Dutch holiday traditions, music, and food during select weekends in December. Tickets go on sale Nov. 1 at magic.windmillisland.com.