Annual Charleston festival set to kick off on Thursday

CHARLESTON - Area residents and tourists from around the country will converge in Charleston this weekend for the 37th Annual Dogwood-Azalea Festival.

"There's just so many fun things for everybody to do in Charleston," said Claudia Arington, executive director of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce.

The theme for this year's festival is "Southern Belles and Blooms" and with a little more sunshine over the next couple of days the dogwoods and azaleas should be ready for visitors.

"The warm weather over the weekend helped," Arington said. "People will see how beautiful Charleston is."

The festival opens Thursday at 9 a.m. with the plant sale at the Shelby home, 307 N. Main St., and the opening of the Hearnes Museum. It will run through Sunday.

Joining old festival favorites like the arts and craft show, candlelight tour, carriage rides, art show, ice cream social, parade, quilt show and queen pageants are a couple of new events.

"We are having the Colgate Country Showdown talent search," Arington announced. "That's Friday at 7 p.m. at the Clara Drinkwater Newnam Auditorium, which is next to the high school."

Also new this year is the addition of gardens to the home tour from 1-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. "We've never had gardens on the tour before," Arington said. "We have two homes and three gardens plus the Historical Society's home."

The "Treasures of Imperial Russia" exhibit will be back at the Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library. "They were here last year but they're bringing more items this year," Arington said. "They have some new pieces to add to their exhibit."

Also returning for a second year is the 101st Airborne Living History Association. "They will set up an exhibit Saturday at the park," Arington said.

For the young and young at heart, the carnival, which will be located on the Galemore Motors lot, will be open from 5-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The petting zoo will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday.

There will also be plenty of music as usual. "We have all kinds of entertainment in the park on Saturday and Sunday," Arington said. "Also during the candlelight tour we have all kinds of entertainment in different spots around town."

Arington said the Chamber of Commerce is expecting plenty of visitors from out of town. "We have more buses scheduled than last year - it just keeps getting bigger and bigger," she said. "We have 55 this year - I think we had 51 last year." Additionally, many unscheduled buses also make stops.

A favorite for the bus tours over recent years has been the free Piano Praise Concert at the First Baptist Church directed by Betty Hearnes.

"It's eight pianos with 16 pianists and one organ," Arington said. "They all play at the same time."

Arington said this is only her second year as the chamber's director, but she has enjoyed the Dogwood-Azalea festival her entire life.

"I've never missed one," she said. "As a resident I didn't realize all the planning and how well the community all pulls together to put this festival together. It's become such a big weekend in Charleston - it takes the whole town to pull it off. We just keep on trying to make it better and better."

Arington said the candlelight tour, which begins at dusk Saturday, is one of her favorite parts of the annual festival.

"It's just such a special time, she said. "If I had to pick one thing, that might be my favorite. There are so many special things it is hard to pick one."