Success for 78th annual North Carolina Azalea Festival as attendance soars

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The 78th annual North Carolina Azalea Festival saw an increase in attendance this year most likely due to the warm weather. 

Organizers estimate there were 250,000 or more attending the Azalea Festival events this year.  

At Wilmington International Airport, there was a “static display” — featuring all sorts of military aircraft you could see up close. 

At times, lines were up to an hour-long wait for this new event.  

Following the parade Saturday morning, street sweepers quickly moved into action to remove any litter left behind.  

78th North Carolina Azalea Festival President Beck Smith said the multi-day event was a huge success. 

“I think everything went great. The street fair was packed! One of our events down there, the ‘Azalea Alley’, actually ran out of food and beverages and we had to get one of the distributors to open the warehouse back up so we could keep going,” Smith said. 

Smith also says some street vendors downtown ended up selling out of items because there were so many people at the street fair.