10/18/2026
Tulip Time draws a few hundred thousand tourists to the quaint, coastal town of Holland, MI in only two spring weekends. The rest of the year, the city homes just under 80,000. Very few are aware of the lively surf hub in town. They’re too busy planting their tulips bulbs in the fall.
On a hot summer day, the golden beaches are barely visible beneath the towels, umbrellas and beach toys. Among the chaos, more each year, are surfboards. Kites, boogie boards, Wavestorms, and and all other manner of wave riding craft compete for water space while dodging bobbing heads. A quick glance might mistake it for a Californian paradise. Hell, even a long glance.
Holland is home to about a dozen full-time surfers with rather flexible lives. If you decide to surf the peak of a swell, you will with almost guaranteed certainty see Jaxson Sportel, Nate Knoth, Mark Cox, Brian McDonald, Ryan Herman, Josiah Huisman, or yours truly, Giles Schlehuber.
Yesteryear, in the late eighties and early nineties, Greg Gemmen ruled the groms. The Lakeshore Drive crew surfed and threw Great Lakes Surf Association parties. Rick Boss, friend of Gemmen, passed the torch to Brian McDonald in the 00s. BMD, one of a handful of surfers over seventy, has acted as a surf guru for the community. All are welcome in Brian’s lineup.
Alongside the wise elder counsel, Holland is home to the finest surfboard craftsman in Tim Folkert (not 70). Ask a Great Lakes surfer about Migration boards. It’ll likely ring a bell.
The town has pristine beaches, locals, a shaper, and waves; just no surf shop. There’s no place to gather. Recently, Migration Supply Co. has begun to fill that void. Since most of the GLSA has aged out or moved away, the community has struggled to unite. Brian McDonald has done great work, and now the Migration crew has stepped in to breathe life into the community through shindigs.
Holland is a surf town with beaches that rival the country’s best. It has surf history dating back to the beginning, a talented group of young and old surfers, and a small scene that will forever be obscured by a worshipful tulip festival.
