Debra Paget, Azalea Queen XII, poses for a photograph during the Azalea Festival that took place April 2-5, 1959. Gov. Ronald Reagan presided as master of ceremonies, and celebrity guest appearances included: Harvey Hudson and Howard Morris.
Photograph of Esther Williams from the 1958 Azalea Festival. Williams was Azalea Queen XI for the festival that ran from March 27-30. Notable celebrities also made appearances during the festival that year including Andy Griffith, Arnold Palmer,...
Miss Sara Shane, Queen Azalea VIII, and Clara Faye Arnold, Miss North Carolina of 1955, participate in the Azalea Festival parade. The pair are pictured on 3rd Street as they pass Thalian Hall during the 1955 Azalea Festival.
The Azalea Festival queen is interviewed during the opening ceremonies of the festival. It appears to be Shelly Fabares, Azalea Queen XIV, during the 1961 festival.
New Hanover County, North Carolina, seafood, parks
Scott Barnette, Anita Riddy, and Kenny Hicks of the Pilot House Restaurant stir their clam chowder between servings at the seventh annual Azalea Coast Chowder Contest at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in Wilmington.
Gaye McClanahan and her husband, Bill, serve chowder up to the hordes of people attending the 6th annual Azalea Coast Chowder Contest. Their restaurant is the the Terrace Inn.
New Hanover County, festivals, parades, gardens, beauty contests, pageants,
Miss Wilmington Angela Jenness, wearing her crown and a corsage (right) and North Carolina Azalea Festival Princess Tricia Parker (Hoggard H.S. graduate) talk with each other during an outside Azalea function as a group of festival goers look on.
Andy Griffiith, actor, made a guest appearance at the XIII Azalea Festival that took place from March 31 to April 3, 1960. Griffith is most famous for his roles on the hit TV shows Matlock and The Andy Griffith Show, a comedy set in the fictional...
Black and white photograph of Third Street activities during the Azalea Festival. No date listed. Man with camera pictured in foreground and a float is followed by a marching band as it approaches Texaco Station.