Wearing the Crown

Jacqueline White, Rebecca Arthur and Ericka Dunlap.  What do these women have in common you say?  Jacqueline White and Rebecca Arthur have proudly represented the North Carolina Azalea Festival as the Queen Azalea in previous years and this year our Queen Azalea is Ericka Dunlap!  Celebrating Wilmington in the spring when our community is at the height of excitement with the beautiful sunshine and gardens exploding with azaleas, our community and visitors alike join together for North Carolina’s favorite Festival.

Jacqueline White is an American film actress whom currently resides in Beverly Hills, California.  Charming and warm, Jacqueline was a leading lady in many 1940’s films and was under contract for both MGM and RKO.  She was our first Queen Azalea that had the privilege of beginning the tradition in 1948.  

 In 1989 William H. Cameron, President of the 42^nd North Carolina Azalea Festival crowned Rebecca Arthur.  Rebecca is also an American film actress that starred in the TV show Perfect Strangers as Mary Anne from 1986 to 1993.  Her most current film was in 2000 when she was cast in The Watcher.  

The 65^th Queen Azalea is Ericka Dunlap.  She reigned as Miss Florida in 2003 and continued on to win the coveted title of Miss America in 2004.  Ericka is the founder of the Crown Jewel Foundation, an organization that invests in the lives of young women and encourages them to strive for excellence and overcome obstacles in achieving their goals.  We are so pleased she will be joining us this April!

The Queen Azalea is the Ambassador for the North Carolina Azalea Festival; she attends official events, visits with groups in our community and also featured in the Parade on Saturday.  Many of the fondest memories shared with the North Carolina Azalea Festival are those of our beautiful Queen Azalea.  The crown that was used for the first Queen Azalea coronation in 1948 is the same crown used today, kept in pristine condition all these years.  While many traditions change or fade over the years, it is pleasant to know that the North Carolina Azalea Festival strives to keep tradition alive with celebrating Wilmington and Southern hospitality!  We all sincerely look forward to this April when we will again welcome spring and delight in the beautiful place we call home.

Please feel free to share any pictures or memories you may have of the Queen Azaleas over the years on our Facebook page!  We certainly love to see pictures and hear stories relating to the Festival.

Also, there will be a Facebook contest later this week so make sure to “Like” the North Carolina Azalea Festival fan page, the link is above.  Good luck!   

Get Your Tickets!

We have been incredibly busy this past week selling tickets for Scotty McCreery!  Fans are excited to have the opportunity to see him perform at Trask Coliseum and with how tickets have sold so far, I imagine we might be sold out by Friday.  Our office had lines out the door on Thursday and Friday morning; people have shared they are excited to have Scotty join us as this year’s concert artist and many are making it a family event!  Below is a sneak peak of what you can expect if you have the opportunity to attend Scotty’s concert…

Also, we were so thrilled to share who had been chosen as the North Carolina Azalea Festivals 2012 Queen Azalea, the beautiful and talented Ericka Dunlap!  She is such an incredible addition to the Festival and we sincerely look forward to her time here in Wilmington.  Ericka is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree and is the founder of the Crown Jewel Foundation, an organization that invests in the lives of young women and encourages them to strive for excellence and overcome obstacles in achieving their goals. 

The Ticket Office is currently selling tickets for the Cape Fear Garden Club’s Azalea Garden Tour, Cole Bros Circus, Scotty McCreery, Azalea Children’s Tea with A Princess and A Pea theme, the Annual 5K/10K and Fun Walk and the North Carolina Azalea Festival Scholarship Pageant.  Ticket prices and dates can be found on the North Carolina Azalea Festival website or call our office at 910-794-4650.

Last week marked our first Facebook contest!  Frances Rivenbark won an official North Carolina Azalea Festival umbrella and we are excited about the contests and prizes that will be coming up.  Make sure to “Like” us on Facebook because you never know when a contest will be happening!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity in between the hustle and bustle of the office to go and deliver the 2012 Official Artwork to several local businesses with our office manager and it was wonderful to see how excited people were to have this year’s print to display in their business.  The next time you are out and about, look around for North Carolina Azalea Festival’s Official Artwork!      

And the Winner is...

Later on today the North Carolina Azalea Festival will be announcing the 65^th Queen Azalea, several of the celebrity guests as well as one of the musical artists that will be performing the week of the Festival.  It is an exciting time for everyone!  I know that every year, Wilmington residents and visitors to the Festival alike await the announcement of the individuals that will join our community in celebrating the splendor of the Cape Fear area and the beautiful azaleas.  The Ticket Office has been bustling with phone calls, countless meetings and preparation to make the announcement later today and we are certain that the community will be thrilled to find out who our Queen Azalea is this year!

Today also marks the start of our North Carolina Azalea Festival contests.  Throughout the next weeks we will be posting questions on the North Carolina Azalea Festival’s Facebook page about the Festival’s history, previous Queen Azaleas, previous Concert Artists, as well as questions about this years guests that will joining us very soon.  Prizes for our winners will range from North Carolina Azalea Festival souvenirs to tickets for events associated with the Festival.  The answers to our questions can be found on the official website, the Facebook page for the North Carolina Azalea Festival and this blog.  The links for these pages can be found at the top of this page so make sure you check out the beautiful website and also “Like” us on Facebook so that you can participate in the contests!  There will be several contests leading up to the Festival so make sure to keep up with Sweet Tea and Azaleas for information about the upcoming Festival events, announcements as well as the next opportunity to win fabulous prizes!