There were nothing but blue skies for the very first Auburn Azalea Festival on Saturday.
The fundraising event — sponsored by the Davis Arboretum, the LocAL Auburn Pop Up Shop and the Environmental Awareness Organization — began with a plant sale at 8 a.m., featuring the Auburn Series Native Azaleas.
“It has been a pretty successful day,” said Patrick Thompson, an arboretum specialist. “The plant sale is the morning event, and in the afternoon we will have entertainment, live
There was live music throughout the day, including Trent Pearson, a local musician who played an acoustic set, and Highwater, a local folk duo. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the pavilion hosted artists and artisans from the LocAL Pop Up shop.
“I think it looks awesome,” said Lauren Duncan, an Auburn resident, as she glanced around at the shoppers at the pavilion.
Duncan, the founder of the LocAL Pop Up shop, said this is the first time the shop has “popped” up anywhere outside of the store, which is located on South College Street near
“We have been doing it since December, but it has grown and changed every time,” Duncan said. “We have around 35 vendors now, it has grown each time and it continues to grow. At first, it was me and my friends who painted flowers, but now we have leather and all different things [in the shop].”
Everything is handmade in Alabama. Vendors come from Birmingham, Montgomery and Dadeville to contribute to the shop.
From flower prints and paintings to the live azaleas being sold, people were buzzing about on the grounds, making conversation with old and new friends.
“Please join and be my friend,” said Morgan Beadles, a curator at the Davis Arboretum, joking with a guest as they glanced into an Azalea society pamphlet.
“I brought out the community,” she said. “My friends are here, my parents are here, and my friend’s parents are here. Life is great.”
Beadles started working with the arboretum in July of 2016 and has been initiating and observing much change over the last year.
“The native plant sale is a big fundraiser for us," she said. "The proceeds are going towards improvements on the grounds — improving our collections, improving walkways and adding plants. We are moving in a ‘botanical gardens’ direction, so the money that we earn here helps us to continue to do that.”
The arboretum is also planning a project to improve walkways, in partnership with the College of Architecture,
“We are trying hard to make it look like a professional botanical garden,” Beadles said. “Who knew? Auburn has a botanical garden that is free every day of the year. [We have] all of the native plants of Alabama, and the way it is laid out, you can basically take a tour from Huntsville to Gulf Shores in an hour.”
The Auburn Azaleas are a breed that has been developed over the course of 30 years under the careful eye of Auburn University professors and researchers. These azaleas, the arboretum said, are characterized by their hardiness and long growth season.
The Davis Arboretum is also home to the Alabama chapter of the Azalea Society of America.
The Azalea Society awards an Azalea City designation, and one of the requirements — in addition to a certain number of ASA members within the area who attend regular meetings — is an azalea event.
“That was the only thing we didn't have,” Patrick said. “Now, we do.”
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