By Ailyn Quiroz

Staff Writer

This Sunday and Saturday, Drexel Park will be filled with a variety of vendors, events, and activities for everyone to enjoy.  

“We’re very excited to continually expand the Azalea Festival to include our community partners and to give out out-of-town patrons even more of a reason to make Valdosta and Lowndes County their destination for the entire weekend,” said H. Aaron Strickland, executive director, to The Valdosta Daily Times. 

There will be more than 270 vendors, food, six stages of entertainment, and other events throughout the two-day festival, but also the addition of the opening weekend at Wild Adventures Theme Park, which Stickland hopes can attract more attendees. 

On the first day of the festival at 7 a.m., there will be the Azalea 5k race with a $20 early registration and $25 registration on the day of the race. The race will start and finish at the Valdosta Early College Academy. 

The Classic Car & Bike show will start at 10 a.m. on Sunday, with registration ending at 12:30 p.m. and judging starting after registration. Trophies will be given at 3:00 p.m.  

The Turner Center for the Art’s will hold their first Leavitt Concert of their series with country artist Mark Taylor playing on Saturday starting at 12 p.m. Then on Sunday at 12 p.m. the rock band Mojo Poets will play.  

Stickland continued, “And we’re thrilled to welcome back the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show sponsored by The Langdale Company, and other crowd favorites this year,” said Stickland. “The Azalea Festival is able to offset a majority of the costs of its attraction and special events through sponsorships and donation from local businesses, families, and organizations.” 

Special events also include the return of “Azalea After Dark” on Saturday at 6 p.m. in partnership with Valdosta Main Street with entertainment and merchants.  

For more information about the festival, go to https://www.azaleafestival.com/ or https://visitvaldosta.org/. You can also call the festival staff at 229-269-9381 or email info@azaleafestival.com.