Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Eckert’s Farm has been offering the metro area country-style fun for as long as I’ve been alive and then some. The farm was started at the end of the 1800s by third generation German immigrants and shows no sign of disappearing from our landscape any time soon. Tulips aren’t one of my favorites but in long rows with a cute little Dutch windmolen, it’s a lovely thing to experience in southern Illinois. Even when it’s cold and windy.

$100,000 was reportedly invested in the 300,000 tulip display. With admission right around $20/person and heavy weekend crowds, I’m sure that investment is well on its way to being recuperated if it hasn’t already; and this event’s popularity I’d imagine will continue it into tradition for years to come.

That said, for the size of the area $20 admission is a stretch. My admission was paid for during a discount offer by a family member—I don’t think I would have considered it worth the $20. By comparison, Missouri Botanical Garden [while yes, has many, many donors] offers admission to their expansive facility at $16. These are considerations companies need to take seriously for the consumer, otherwise what’s truly the point in offering the community something if it’s not accessible?

That’s something I’ve long felt about Eckert’s—while I can appreciate what it brings to my community, it tends to value itself twice what should be considered average. We are after all, on farm in southern Illinois. And I truly don’t mean this as a knock on the farm; but I wouldn’t be able to in good conscious tout this as an experience worth the price point, or something affordable for the family.