History with ‘Hud’: How the Azalea Festival blossomed into a major local event
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The 77th annual North Carolina Azalea Festival is currently in full swing, with tours, parades and fairs lasting until April 7th. But the celebration surrounding the colorful flower began on a much simpler note.
The initial makings of what would become the idea for an Azalea Festival came from Dr. Houston Moore in 1934, who had the vision of transforming un-kept, swampy Greenfield Lake into a beautiful landscaped park. It took nearly ten years of financial ups and down before the park finally blossomed, but once it did, it inspired Dr. Moore to conceive the idea of a festival to be held annually ‘when the flowers burst into bloom’.
In 1946 and 1947, Moore and Hugh Morton worked behind the scenes to see that a 175,000 azaleas were added to Greenfield Lake, and they encouraged homeowners all over town to plant azaleas everywhere they could. The first festival began April 9, 1948, and was broadcast live across the nation on ABC Radio News.
Despite modest projections, the inaugural festival in 1948 drew over 60,000 spectators, including Jacqueline White, who was named the first Queen Azalea. 75 other Queen Azaleas — including Phylicia Rashad and Kelly Ripa — have been named since then, but White is still alive and well, living in Texas at age 101.
When the first Azalea Festival took place in April 1948 the gardens were at peak beauty, the weather was perfect, and the Festival cleared a $5,000 profit. While Queen Azalea Jacqueline White was the headlining celebrity, more celebrities followed in the years to come, such as Andy Griffith, Ronald Reagan and Michael Landon, among numerous others.
The fancy outfits quickly became just as important as the people who came out each year, with elaborate dresses transforming into an unwritten tradition. As a result, the Cape Fear Garden Club started the Azalea Belles around 1969. But that ended in 2020, due to scrutiny from critics who claimed it glorified slavery and the pre-civil war era.
2020 also brought the first cancellation of an April Azalea Festival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival returned in 2021 and has quickly grown back into the huge festival is was before, drawing hundreds of thousands of people and generating millions for the local economy each year.
Meteorologist Matthew Huddleston (‘Hud’) has always had two major loves – weather and history. While you can watch him talk about weather each evening on WWAY, he looks forward to bringing you a little piece of history each Thursday on WWAY’s website.
To read other History with ‘Hud’ segments, click HERE.
