Muskogee Azalea Festival begins but blooms running slow

Muskogee Azalea Festival
Muskogee, Oklahoma

The 2014 Muskogee Azalea Festival is underway in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The annual festival begins on April 1 of each year.

The severe winter, however, is likely to have an impact on the blooms this year. Record-breaking cold and ice in Oklahoma over the winter has stunted the azaleas and slowed the blooming season. Officials with the Muskogee Parks Department report that the buds are just beginning to show and the blooms are running well behind this year.

There are still plenty of reasons to go!  Honor Heights Park is beautiful every spring, even more so with the recent addition of its new Butterfly Papilion & Gardens. Parks officials indicate that the tulips will be especially beautiful this year. Other plants and trees will be in bloom as well and the azaleas will be later this month.

The main day of this year's Azalea Festival will be April 12. The annual parade will step off at 11 a.m. in downtown Muskogee, followed by a day of events at Honor Heights Park.

For more information on the 2014 Muskogee Azalea Festival, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

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.

Azaleas are early in Muskogee, Oklahoma!

Muskogee Azalea Festival

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival is one of the finest events of its kind in the world. It runs from April 1st - April 30th, but this year the blooms have arrived early!

According to the Friends of Honor Heights Park, the azaleas are now in bloom and my well be gone by the time of the annual Azalea Festival Parade on April 14th!

Carriage in Honor Heights Park

The warm spring and lack of a late freeze has the thousands of blooming plants, trees and shrubs at Honor Heights Park out early and now through the weekend of April 7th & 8th is probably going to be the best time to go and see them. That according to a statement provided today by those who help care for the park.

Predicting the timing of the blooms always involves a bit of watch and wait, but they normally come out in the first week of April and peak in the second or third. This year, however, the flowers are all coming in early and so if you hope to see them, you should make plans to go immediately!

For more information on this year's festival, please visit: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Cold Winter leads to late Azalea Blooms in much of the South

The long, cold winter has had an effect on this year's azalea blooms across much of the South, pushing them back later into spring than normal.

Usually the blooms at places like Honor Heights Park, home of the Muskogee Azalea Festival in Oklahoma, and Callaway Gardens in Georgia would have been in full bloom a week ago, but they are just now beginning to come out. Garden experts indicate that this should mean two things for this year's display. First, the blooms should be quite spectacular over the next week or so. Second, the blooms may not remain at their height as long as normal this year.

As of this weekend, the azalea blooms at Muskogee, where the Azalea Festival will continue until the end of the month, were still emerging but they should be quite beautiful as this week goes along. The case is the same at Callaway Gardens at Pine Mountain, Georgia. The blooms there were still coming out on Saturday, but should be really pretty by the end of the week.

Elsewhere across the South, you can expect about the same conditions at gardens from about the midpoints of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and north. Along the coastal plain, everything looks really nice. Here in Northwest Florida, the azaleas are just spectacular.

Here are links to some of our garden pages at ExploreSouthernHistory.com:

• Muskogee Azalea Festival - Muskogee, Oklahoma
• Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Georgia
• Dothan Area Botanical Gardens - Dothan, Alabama
• Eden Gardens State Park - Point Washington, Florida
• Rainbow Springs State Park - Dunnellon, Florida
• Garvan Woodland Gardens - Hot Springs, Arkansas
• Maclay Gardens State Park - Tallahassee, Florida

Muskogee Azalea Festival Big Weekend is Here

The coming weekend (April 10th and 11th) will be the main weekend for this year's edition of the famed Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The warm weather is bringing the blooms out and they should be out nicely by the weekend, so if you are planning to visit the festival this year, the time is here! Because of the cold winter, the gardners are not sure how long the azaleas will stay in bloom, but they should be quite pretty by this weekend and will stay that way for at least the coming week.

The Muskogee Azalea Festival is one of the finest free spring events in the South, possibly even the nation. Last year it attracted around 150,000 people. While many think of wind sweeping down the plain when they think of Oklahoma, the eastern part of the state is really quite Southern. Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, for example, offers some of the most beautiful azalea and dogwood gardens in the South.

The main day of the festival this year will be Saturday, April 10th, and will include a parade and a variety of other activities. Honor Heights Park will be alive with activity all day, including carriage rides, food, activities for children and, of course, the beautiful flowers.

To learn more and see a full schedule of event, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

U.S.S. Batfish - The Oklahoma Submarine

One of the most remarkable sights in the South is the U.S.S. Batfish, a famed World War II submarine that sits high and dry in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Commissioned in 1943, the Batfish was named for a ferocious West Indian fish and lived up to its name in combat against the forces of Imperial Japan. Credited with sinking 15 Japanese vessels, the Batfish earned lasting fame late in the war when it destroyed 3 enemy submarines in 76 hours. The record stands to this day as a landmark in naval warfare.

When the war ended, the Batfish became part of the large U.S. "mothball" fleet of vessels no longer needed by the peacetime navy. By the late 1960s, she had deteriorated badly. An effort developed in Oklahoma, however, to save a World War II submarine. The effort originally focused on the U.S.S. Pirahna, but she proved too badly deteriorated. The Navy, instead, recommended the Batfish.

Towed from Texas up the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers in 1972, the submarine was moved into its current position at Muskogee during the extremely high water of 1973. The sub now sits high and dry, 30 feet above the normal stage of the Arkansas River.

The Batfish is the centerpiece of Muskogee's noteworthy War Memorial Park. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okbatfish.

Schedule for 2010 Muskogee Azalea Festival now available

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is one of the premier Spring events in the South.

When many Americans think of Oklahoma, they think of "wind sweeping down the plain." What many do not realize, however, is that the eastern part of the state is a beautiful region of mountains, lakes, forests and farms. Very much a part of the South, it is an area with historic sites that range from Civil War battlefields to historic forts and even plantations.

In fact, one of the finest annual displays of azaleas, dogwoods and other flowering plants in the South can be found each April at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee. A free event that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, the Muskogee Azalea Festival focuses on the scenic beauty, culture and history of the unique Oklahoma city.

The main day of this year's festival will be April 10th. That's the day of the parade and many other major events, although the festival continues daily for the entire month of April.

More specific information, including a link to a complete schedule of events for this year's Muskogee Azalea Festival, is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Muskogee Azalea Festival is Under Way in Oklahoma

The 2009 version of the Muskogee Azalea Festival is officially underway in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The annual event begins today and runs through the end of the month.

Held annually at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, the Azalea Festival is one of the premier spring events in the South and draws visitors from all over the United States and even foreign countries.

Honor Heights Park is a beautiful and historic facility located high on a ridge overlooking the city of Muskogee. It features 40 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens with more than 625 varieties of azaleas as well as dogwoods, redbuds and a host of other blooming trees, shrubs and plants.

The main day of the festival will be on Saturday, April 18th, with a parade and numerous other events, but the festival is now officially underway at Honor Heights Park. Visitors are welcome to drive through the gardens or walk and take their time.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

2009 Muskogee Azalea Festival Info now online...

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is one of the premier spring events in the South.

Held each year at Honor Heights Park, a beautiful setting high on a hill overlook the historic city of Muskogee, the festival draws thousands of visitors from around the world and features a stunning array of blooming trees, shrubs and plants. More than varieties of azaleas are planted across 40 acres of the park and by mid-April they are usually quite spectacular.

I have updated the Azalea Festival pages information on this year's festival, including planned dates, etc. I will continue to add more information as it becomes available. To check out the latest, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea. The pages also include current weather information for Muskogee and an easy way to get directions to the festival from your location.

A heading for the festival will also remain up through April on the home page at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/.

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.

Annual Muskogee Azalea Festival Parade is Saturday

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival is in full swing in Muskogee, Azalea. Despite the storms this past week, the skies have cleared and the flowers are coming out nicely.

This will be the big weekend of the festival, although Honor Heights Park presents its annual display of tens of thousands of blooms for the rest of April..

The annual parade is set for Saturday (tomorrow) morning at 11 a.m. in downtown Muskogee. More than 80 floats are expected to be part of this year's parade.

For more on the festival, which is one of the top annual events in the South, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the heading on the main page.

Muskogee Azalea Festival - Weather now available

The next two weeks are the traditional height of the Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Because the area is having a LOT of rain this spring, I've added a weather section to our page on the festival to help you better plan your travel if you are planning to visit this year's festival.

It is available, along with other information, at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Annual Muskogee Azalea Festival is Underway

The 2008 Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is now underway. The annual event runs from April 1st - April 30th.

The main weekend this year will be April 12-13. That's when the parade and other major events will take place and usually also signals the peak of the blooming season.

This event is one of the finest outdoor festivals in the South and takes place each year at historic Honor Heights Park in Muskogee.

For more information on this year's festival, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the Muskogee Azalea Festival heading on the home page.

Muskogee Azalea Festival - Muskogee, Oklahoma

The 2008 Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is set to begin on April 1st.

The festival features more than 30,000 blooming azaleas representing more than 600 different varieties and is one of the top annual events in the South. Each year it draws hundreds of thousands of people.

The festival begins on April 1st and runs through April 30th. The parade this year will be on April 12th, which is usually about the peak of the blooming season.

To learn more about this fantastic annual event, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the Muskogee Azalea Festival heading at the top of the page.