By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer 

MONTEVALLO – Rows of colorful tulips have returned to the American Village for another season of picking.

The third annual American Village Festival of Tulips opened on Saturday, Feb. 16, and features 100,000 tulips in the region’s only you-pick tulip field, where families, groups and other visitors can walk around, pick the tulips they want to purchase and package the flowers to take home.

The Festival of Tulips will be open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Sunday, 12-4 p.m., weather permitting, as long as the flowers remain.

Weekday admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and youth, and free to veterans, active military and children 4 years old and younger. Weekend admission is $5.

There is a group discount and catering option for groups of 20 or more that book in advance for a weekday trip. Call Jodie Wasyluka at (205) 665-3535 extension 1045 for more information on group tours.

Visitors are encouraged to bring a camera for photo opportunities in the tulip field.

Tulips are $1.50 each, bulb included. The flowers last longer if they are left on the bulb during transport.

Some of the tulips currently blooming include Flair, a red and yellow striped tulip; Foxtrot, a small, ruffled pink tulip; Twin Peeks, a mix of bright red and vibrant pink; Gentle Giants, a mix of tall pink and red varieties; Big Red, a large red tulip with a black throat; Yumino Murasaki, a lily-flowered tulip in bright purple; and Miss Confection, a combination of pink and white tulips.

Tulip field visitors also have access to the American Village’s other experiences, such as Colonial games, meetings with patriots of the past, the Continental Army encampment, the Colonial Chapel, the Randall Museum and the National Veterans Shrine, which celebrates its fifth anniversary on Feb. 18.

Check Americanvillage.org or the American Village Facebook page for weather updates, news and photos from the tulip field.