Local businesses in downtown Wilmington prepare for Azalea Festival weekend

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Azalea Festival is here with tons of activities taking place. The parade will begin at 9:30am Saturday, with the street fair opening Friday evening and running until Sunday afternoon.

With cooler temperatures scheduled for the mornings this weekend, local businesses such as Maroon Monkey are hoping to attract those in need of something to warm them up; and support local businesses.

“They could definitely come by Maroon Monkey and grab our house made chai we make in house, and also our drip coffee is made in house. I love talking to all the tourists, knowing why they’re here and what they’re up to for the weekend,” said Chloe Poston, a barista at Maroon Monkey.

Fuzz Love downtown manager Colleen Lux said she looks forward to the positive energy of people coming into her shop.

“It’s, it’s just a lot of good energy downtown. A lot of, just a lot of bodies that we may or may not normally see, so that’s really nice.”

Lux said while she’s glad the vendors that set up shop over the Azalea Festival weekend will give visitors more options to choose from, she hopes visitors won’t forget about the businesses that are downtown year-round.

“The people who come here are drawn to the temporary shops, if you will. They tend toward the temporary and less towards the permanent, you know what I mean. So, that’s a little bit difficult for us.”