The North Carolina Azalea Festival is an annual community festival in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. The largest festival of its kind in the state, it was founded in 1948, and takes place in April.

History

The Azalea Festival began in 1948 as an idea of Dr. W. Houston Moore, M.D. Dr. Moore held a meeting in Wilmington's Chamber of Commerce with civil club representatives to discuss and begin planning for the first Azalea Festival. The Festival would take place in April 1948 and would serve the purpose of showcasing the local gardens such as

Airlie Gardens Airlie Gardens is a public garden in Wilmington, North Carolina. History It was created in 1886 as a private garden for the Pembroke Jones family by Mrs. Jones. The name 'Airlie' was derived from the Jones' family home in Scotland. It was designe ...

, Orton Gardens, and Greenfield Gardens. The following is a letter written by Mr. Morton to Gayle Ward in response to her request for information about the Festival beginnings: Azalea open 2

A number of events have made up the Azalea Festival schedule, including the Azalea Open Invitational where

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

took home the title in 1957. The first sidewalk show was held in 1953 and has continued as tradition since.Looking Back Through the Years
/ref> The 2020 festival was cancelled in response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Customs and traditions

Airlie Gardens

span of Wilmington property and was created in 1901. The gardens are less than a mile from the ocean and planted with various types of flora. Ownership of the gardens has changed hands several times and has gone from being a land grant from King George II in 1735 to a now comparably smaller garden open for public viewing. Garden tours are open to the public and include visits to several different areas of Airlie including the butterfly garden, a mystery grave, and the

Minnie Evans Minnie Eva Evans (December 12, 1892 – December 16, 1987) was an African American artist who worked in the United States from the 1940s to the 1980s. Evans used different types of media in her work such as oils and graphite, but started with us ...

Sculpture Garden. The latter has a "BottleChapel" along with both metal and ceramic sculptures. Airlie Gardens also hosts summer camps and educational programs are available to the public.

Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Belles

A tradition held by the Azalea Festival is the "Belles": young ladies who serve as hostesses and guides to the gardens in the area. This tradition began in 1969 under a suggestion by the president of the Cape Fear Garden Club at that time. The first year, seven girls played the role of Azalea Belles.Azalea Festival: Belles and Queens
/ref> To become an Azalea Belle, one must apply for the position; however, precedence is given to those girls who are either daughters or granddaughters of Cape Fear Garden Club members. Girls from New Hanover County High School are next to be a NC Azalea Belle. If the Belle is not a member of the Cape Fear Garden Club, she may be "committee sponsored" by applying through the belle chairman.Belle Policies
/ref> New Azalea Belle policies were adopted in 2006. The number of belles needed for each year is dependent upon the size of the gardens in the tour and is determined by the belle chairman. Also, a young lady may only serve as a Belle one year and may not be in the Azalea Festival Scholarship Pageant during the year that she serves as a belle. As of August 2020, "Belles" are no longer affiliated with the North Carolina Azalea Festival.

North Carolina Azalea Festival Queens

The North Carolina Azalea Festival has brought a number of people to the Wilmington area to serve as the Festival's Queen. Queens are crowned during the first day of the festival. Past participants include:

Celebrities

Celebrities who have visited the southern town of Wilmington for the festival (including as guests, visitors, Queens, and emcees to the Festival) have included:Azalea Belles and Queens
/ref>

Notes and references

{{reflist Festivals in North Carolina Tourist attractions in New Hanover County, North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina Debutante balls Flower festivals in the United States Balls in the United States Annual events in North Carolina