Azalea Fest. 2016

For more than 60 years, Wilmington has been home to the Azalea Festival, a four day party that hosts celebrities, musicians, artists, garden & home tours, and an array of other activities.  In all of my time here in Wilmington, I had yet to enjoy the festivities properly.  The Sossamons made plans to come the first part of the long weekend and I promised myself to soak everything up this year.  

Julie and Randy arrived mid-day Thursday.  I left work and we headed to Brasserie for a late lunch.  Brasserie always is the best place to get a salad.  You can create your own and they always have the freshest ingredients.  We sat out on the patio and caught up over lunch.

After lunch we went back to the Pecan Cottage to get ready.  We had tickets to the Avett Bros and they were starting promptly at 8pm.  Once Mandy arrived, we ubered downtown to the Belk Stage.  Each year the festival holds a series of three concerts, one each night.  This year, Wilmington welcomed The Avett Bros, Snoop Dog, and Chase Rice.  While it was abnormally cold this weekend, we had the best weather of the three nights.

The Friday of Azalea Festival is Garden Party day.  This event takes place at Airlie Gardens.  Men and women, clad in their preppiest attire, spent the morning sipping mimosas and socializing on the lawn.  After the party, guests headed to the restaurants on Airlie Road and the revelry continued.  We opted out of the Garden Party, but headed to Dockside for lunch and people watching.  It was a gorgeous afternoon.  We enjoyed lunch and Bloodys on the water.   

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Julie and Randy left Friday afternoon and I headed to meet some college friends at Burnt Mill Creek that evening.  L-Shaped Lot, a local band, was preforming.  One of the best meals I had all weekend was the brisket and butter-beans I got from The International Food Truck. 

Saturday afternoon, I went with Danielle and her family to the street fair downtown.  In all of our time in Wilmington, Danielle and I had never been.  I think we had never been for good reason.  We checked it off the bucket list and wont have to return.  Overall, the weekend was sensational.