Queen Azalea tours Wilmington during Community Day
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Community Day for the 79th annual North Carolina Azalea Festival brought Queen Azalea Elaine Hendrix and her court across Wilmington on Thursday, where they greeted residents and visited local organizations.
One of the queen’s stops included the Brigade Boys & Girls Club, where children spent weeks preparing for her visit with a fashion show, cheer routine, and dance party.
Dawn-Michele Blalock, CEO of the Brigade Boys & Girls Club, said the visit created a memorable experience for the children.
“They have such pride in their club and they want to show off their club, and so to be able to do this for a dignitary, a queen no less, is very exciting for them and it’s not something they get to do every day so, like I said, they prepare for this and they want to put on the best possible visit that they can,” said Blalock.
Hendrix and her court also visited Novant Health Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where they met with patients, therapy dogs, and children in the pediatric unit.
Victoria Bellamy, community engagement manager for Novant Health, said the visit has a meaningful impact on patients and families.
“You know, those folks are going through hard times, those families, those kids, but it always just brightens their day to get to meet the queen and the cadettes, so it is something that we really look forward to here at the hospital; we love hosting them,” said Bellamy.
Hendrix said participating in the festival and connecting with the community has been an honor.
“I love people. It’s one of the reasons that I do what I do, it’s one of the reasons that I’m here and I’m just so honored and so grateful to be able to get out and share joy and inspiration with everyone in the community because they are so clearly proud of Wilmington, and North Carolina, and this festival, so it’s just my honor,” said Hendrix.
Festival events continue Friday with the Airlie Garden luncheon and a concert by Dustin Lynch, followed by the street fair and parade scheduled for Saturday.
