Books and Blooms Fun at Windmill Island Gardens
For Immediate Release
June 30, 2025
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Andrea Bork
Programs Coordinator, Windmill Island Gardens
1 Lincoln Ave, Holland, MI 49423
616.355.1058 | a.bork@cityofholland.com
www.WindmillIsland.org
Books and Blooms Fun at Windmill Island Gardens
Holland, MI – Visit Windmill Island Gardens this Monday for another segment of the Books and Blooms series! The Bluestocking Bookshop staff will host this week’s Books and Blooms activity on Monday, July 7! Each Books and Blooms will begin with a Story Time hosted by the Herrick District Library at 10:00 am, followed by a fun, educational, and hands-on activity at 10:30 am. During the Books and Blooms series, children can not only enjoy interactive stories, songs, and activities, but also enjoy our children’s carousel, playground, and see our chickens all on Windmill Island Gardens’ park grounds.
This Monday during Books and Blooms, join the staff from the Bluestocking Bookshop as they lead kids in using pages from gently damaged books and colorful scrap paper to collage their own garden-themed masterpiece creating flowers, butterflies, clouds, and more! Using recycled damaged book pages and paper scraps, kids can use their creativity to repurpose a variety of paper materials.
The Bluestocking Bookshop has been ensuring books are accessible to all West Michigan communities since 2019. At their store you can take used books and trade them in for store credit as they keep their shop stocked with new books and gifts for all literary ages. The Bluestocking Bookshop partners regularly with community organizations and are dedicated to inclusivity and equity.
Families are invited to Windmill Island Gardens every Monday morning for our weekly Books and Blooms series from 10:00 am – 11:30 am through August 17. This weekly Books and Blooms series will begin with an interactive Story Time hosted by the Herrick District Library starting at 10:00 am, followed by a come-and-go style activity led by a local non-profit organization from 10:30 am until 11:30am. The full schedule of activities can be found below, and on the Books and Blooms Facebook event page. Activities are free to attend for all; just mention you are there for the series at the admission booth. A parent or guardian must remain onsite the entire time to supervise their children. Activities take place in the park on the East side of the Posthouse building at Windmill Island Gardens (1 Lincoln Ave, Holland, MI, 49423).
For more details on Books and Blooms and other upcoming events at Windmill Island Gardens, visit www.windmillisland.com. Windmill Island Gardens is open daily from 9:30am – 6:00pm (last admission sold at 5:00pm) through October 5.
Upcoming Books & Blooms Dates
July 14
Grow a Garden Bookmark
Ready for School
Kids create a flower-themed bookmark using stickers, stamps, and coloring tools. Include flower facts or fun gardening jokes on a pre-printed template on the reverse side.
July 21
Yard Games & Planting Activity
Holland Recreation
Get moving with Holland Recreation! Enjoy a variety of fun yard games fun for all ages and even decorate your own planter to fill with soil and seeds to take home and watch grow!
July 28
Wacky Wind
Holland Museum
Discover the power of wind with the Holland Museum! Join museum staff for an exciting hands-on STEAM activity exploring wind energy and air resistance. Build your own wind-powered windmill to see how wind can generate motion. Then, experiment with air resistance by designing and launching your very own balloon-powered rocket. Engage in interactive learning and unleash your creativity in this fun and educational experience for all ages!
August 4
Flower Suncatchers
Explore Hope
The team from Explore Hope will teach kids how to craft flower suncatchers out of leaves and flower petals you can find around outside!
August 11
Pollinator Water Station
MSU Extension
Even pollinators need water to survive, especially in the heat of summer! Join our friends from the Michigan State University Extension to create a water source with enough water to outlast a sunny day and enough dry surface from which insects can safely drink and learn about why pollinators are essential to the survival and success of our gardens.
August 17
Water Safety Session
Aqua-Tots
Join Aqua-Tots staff for the final Books and Blooms Pajama Party where they will have fun water themed activities, interactive games, and teach children how to be confident around water with swimming safety tips!
About Windmill Island Gardens: Windmill Island Gardens offers a small slice of the Netherlands in West Michigan. The park features tours of ‘de Zwaan’ – America’s only authentic, working Dutch windmill. Other highlights include an Amsterdam street organ and children’s carousel among many Dutch replica buildings and exhibits. During Tulip Time in May, visitors can delight in 100,000+ tulips in beds and fields. A proud member of the American Public Garden Association and American Horticultural Society, the Island is transformed each summer with a beautiful display of annuals and perennials found in themed beds and throughout the landscape. Visitors can enjoy it all from mid-April to early October each year.