Azalea Fest Makes an Encore

If results from previous years are any indication, and if having nearly double the amount of time to plan provides a benefit, the 2021 North Carolina Azalea Festival could be the best yet.

The increased planning time is a result of last year’s festival being canceled and most of this year’s events being moved to August in response to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus.

“The North Carolina Azalea Festival is excited to host events that bring people together and celebrate everything Wilmington has to offer,” executive director Alison Baringer said. “The festival has an annual economic impact around $50 million, and we are excited to keep growing that to help the community.”

This year’s festival has a new venue, the Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park. Musical acts Sublime with Rome and Michael Franti & Spearhead are scheduled to perform on Thursday, Aug. 19, followed by the Avett Brothers with L-Shape Lot the following two days. An R&B festival will be held at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on Saturday, Aug. 21, the same day as the street fair, parade and fireworks show.

The Airlie Luncheon Garden Party, after party and Dog Garden Paw-ty were scheduled for the last weekend in July. To account for the summer heat, the garden party had a pink clothing theme this year: no bow ties or seersucker suits required.

The event has always been in April, in homage to the namesake flowers that bloom all over town in the spring. This year, event planners partnered with Tinga Nursery to use encore azaleas, a special variety that blooms several times a year, because what’s an Azalea Festival without blooming azaleas?