TULIP FESTIVAL FLASHBACK: Music teacher embraces Orange City's heritage

As a music teacher at Orange City Elementary School, she says embracing the pride of the Dutchman extends to her classroom, too. "Culture is a part of music. We're missing a lot if we're not teaching children about music from other cultures.

"Starting with the second grade, we have kids of every age who perform in some way at the festival. There are so many opportunities for students to participate in the Tulip Festival."

In the spring, Foughty's second- and third-grade students start working on three Dutch tunes they get to perform, clad in traditional Dutch fashions, at the annual event.

"I prepare each song and each dance move with another game from a different culture, so when we start getting ready for the festival, the students know a lot of the movement. The real trick is getting them to remember and say the Dutch words." 

"Zo gaat de Molen" or "So Goes the Windmill," is a song about a Windmill. "The kids do movements that mimic the slow and fast speeds of a windmill and the slow and fast tempos in the song." 

The second and favorite song the students perform is "a traditional song in many cultures." The Dutch version of  "Seven Jumps" features seven different movements. "They say that I cannot dance," the students sing as they stand in a circle, "But I can dance like a nobleman."

"Rosa, Rosa" is a song that pays tribute to the Queen. "Rosa, Rosa, we must bow," the first verse goes, followed by "Rosa, we must dance." "The third verse ends with 'Rosa, we must kneel' and the students kneel down and pay tribute to the Queen." "The movements are super easy," Foughty says. "It's the words that are tricky."

The students are accompanied by a recording of an accordion that was performed by a local musician. The CD also features former Orange City students singing along "to make sure everyone in the area can hear." 

Parent volunteers help the children at the festival while Foughty juggles her other festival activities. Foughty has been the musical director of the Night Show, has ridden on floats in the parade, danced with her husband Tom, and is currently the director of the Dutch Dozen singing and dancing group. 

The second- and third-graders of Orange City Elementary can be seen performing these songs, along with many other festival performances, during the Mode Show in the Straat Feest, or street festival, on Central Avenue.