Muskogee Azalea Festival is officially underway!

Muskogee Azalea Festival

The 2012 edition of the annual Muskogee Azalea Festival, one of the finest events of its kind in the nation, is now underway in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The festival runs from today, April 1st, through April 30th and will feature numerous events including a parade, chili cook-off, Rotary in the Park and more. The festival centers around Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, which is known for its tens of thousands of flowering azaleas, dogwoods, redbuds and other plants. Other events take place around the city.

Muskogee Azalea Festival

Members of the Friends of Honor Heights Park report that the early spring brought out the azaleas much earlier than normal this year and that they could be gone by the main weekend of the festival in two weeks. So, if you want to see the azaleas, you need to get to Muskogee in a hurry!  That doesn't mean, of course, that there won't be plenty of blooms to see from other trees and shrubs as the month goes along, but the azaleas themselves definitely are early.

The main day of the festival is set for April 14th. The day will begin with the Muskogee Run at 8 a.m. followed by the 2012 Azalea Festival Parade through downtown Muskogee at 11 a.m. The Chili Cook-off kicks off at noon at Okmulgee and 4th Streets and will continue until 5 p.m. Tens of thousands of people, of course, will make their way up the hill to Honor Heights Park to enjoy the activities and sights there.

Honor Heights Park is open to the public daily and the festival is free to visit.  To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Muskogee Azalea Festival Update

The 2008 Muskogee Azalea Festival is underway in Muskogee, Oklahoma. I'm receiving quite a few emails about this year's event, so I'm posting an update online to help anyone who is thinking about visiting the festival.

The azaleas and dogwoods are now moving into full bloom at Honor Heights Park and should really be spectacular over about the next 10 days or so. As you can see here, many are already in full bloom and others should be over the next few days.

Any time over the next 10-14 days should be ideal for a visit. There is one thing that you should keep in mind. A severe ice storm badly damaged Honor Heights Park this winter, destroying and damaging trees and shrubs (and many of the tends of thousands of azaleas). As a result the appearance of the park is a little different this year. Let me say, though, that the park employees have done a phenomenal job of cleaning up the damage and replanting in time for this year's festival. I hope if you are considering going, you will do so and show your support for this event that has become one of the truly spectacular festivals in the South.

The Muskogee Azalea Festival will continue through April 30th. For more information, to see photographs of this year's festival and for directions to Honor Heights Park, please follow this link: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.