Dogwood-Azalea Festival

 

 

The Dogwood-Azalea Festival in Charleston, Missouri, is one of our favorite events of the year. If you love architecture, landscaping, and the pictures in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, you will enjoy this spring festival; which Fodor's has named one of the best.

Don’t be concerned. The festival has things for the whole family as well. There’s a carnival for the kids, a crafts fair, a car show. Not to mention a dog show, beauty pageant and a parade, among other events.

 

Not only that, but there are food trucks of all kinds, a petting zoo, and…wait for it….pig races.  Yes, you cannot have an event without the sound of people cheering on their favorite pig.

 

The Dogwood-Azalea Festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID outbreak. But, the event came back with a vengeance for 2021, and its 53 year. So many people were tired of being cooped up, that the event was very well attended.

 

The festival is a showcase for the houses, landscaping, and gardens of Charleston, in the historic district. It is an example of how a town can put on a festival and get widespread support for the event. Virtually every house in this section of town participates, or has participated in the past.

 

The festival has a route marked on the street that people can walk, drive or ride in a horse drawn carriage to enjoy the beautiful neighborhoods.

 

The weather was perfect. It was not too hot and not too cold. It was a little overcast with cloud cover which seems to make the colors of the flowers pop, in radiant purples, reds, yellows and lush greens. It’s a joy to walk the streets holding hands and seeing things that make you dream, or give you ideas for your own garden.

 

The Dogwood-Azalea Festival is just a joy. It’s delightful to be out in nature, and taking in the peacefulness of the gardens. Enjoy your spring, and remember to check out the festival next year.