63rd Annual Azalea Garden Tour begins
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As the Azalea Festival continues, the Queen cut the ribbon at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater to begin the Azalea Garden Tour.
It was beautiful weather for it, and lots of people showed up to get ready for the tour.
The Azalea Festival has been a tradition in the Port City since 1948, and shortly after it began, the Cape Fear Garden Club added the Azalea Garden Tour.
Jeanette Stanley remembers her first Azalea Festival back in the 1950s and been attending the tour every year since.
“I’ve been doing it for 60 years,” Santley said. “We had Polly Bergen as the queen back then. She was an actress in the first Azalea Festival that I went to. I remember seeing her in the parade downtown.”
Friday, the 69th Azalea Queen Anna Kooiman cut the ribbon at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater.
It’s not always the case, but this year azaleas bloomed just in time for this special event.
“I like a variety of flowers, but I have to say the azaleas have so much enrichment,” Stanley said. “It’s so alive.”
Cape Fear Garden Club member Kay Fare says the tour is one of the longest running and most popular garden tours in the South.
“I’ve lived in Wilmington for 40-plus years, and I have always done the garden tour,” Fare said.
Fare says the event is all about southern hospitality, the vibrant color of azaleas and spring flowers, and of course the thousands and thousands of cookies they make.
“Each member has their specialty,” Fare said. “One of our members does belle dresses that are just amazing. The cookies this year I think are probably the most spectacular they have ever been.”
The festival is not just a part of the Wilmington culture. It’s also a tradition for families like the Hindses.
“We are honored to be a part of the Wilmington tradition,” Attendee Anne Hinds said.”We have lived here for over 25 years and enjoy all of the festivities over the weekend.”
They said they were headed to start the tour right after the ceremony.
“I love seeing the gardens,” Hinds said. “I try to get some ideas to incorporate in my yard. I work at a garden store so I have become more familiar with all of the plants over the last couple of years. It’s so beautiful.”
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