In Full Bloom: NC Spring Festivals & Events

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As the weather warms up in March, North Carolina goes into ‘celebration’ mode. Just about every weekend during the spring months, an NC community is holding a major art, food, or music festival, honoring everything from azaleas to buggies to pickles. It’s a chance for everyone to get outside, enjoy the sunshine and warm weather, and celebrate the unique people, places, and things that make North Carolina so special.

Here’s a list of some of NC’s top spring festivals and their 2010 dates:

March 11-14: Taste of the Beach, Outer Banks
Spring comes a little earlier to the NC Coast, and there’s no better way to celebrate it than by taking part in this four-day festival of food and fun. Tapas crawls, a brew school, and a chowder cookoff are just a few of the more than 50 events going on across the Outer Banks during this festival. Ed Brantley and Heba Salama, winners of TV’s The Biggest Loser, will be on hand to teach guests some of the secrets of healthy cooking.

March 25-28: Palistrus Festival, Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen
The first full weekend of spring is the perfect time to kick off this festival, which is named after the Latin word for the longleaf pine trees that are so plentiful in the area. The festival is designed to be a celebration of the of the visual, literary, and performing arts in this golfing mecca, and there are more than 75 events scheduled over four days. Most of the events are free and open to the public; those that require tickets cost no more than $25. Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt will perform in concert March 27 at Pinehurst High School.

April 7-11: North Carolina Azalea Festival, Wilmington
One of the longest-running and most beloved spring festivals in the country, the NC Azalea Festival highlights Wilmington’s exceptional artwork, gardens, rich history and culture over a five-day period. Expect a parade, street fair, circus, concerts, pageantry and all things southern during this event, which usually attracts 300,000 people to the Port City. The Goo Goo Dolls and Collective Soul are scheduled to perform.

April 15-18: Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival, Blowing Rock
The mountains join in on the fun this weekend, with a celebration of culinary delights set in the beautiful NC High Country. Enjoy wine tastings, cooking classes, music, nightlife, shopping, and the Fire On The Rock Chef’s Challenge, where 20 area chefs will ‘grill or be grilled’ in a competition for the honor of wearing the coveted “Red Chef’s Jacket”.

April 23-24: NC Pickle Festival, Mount Olive
You’ve probably seen Mount Olive pickles in your grocery store; now come and celebrate the little cucumbers in the town where they’ve become a big deal. Among the events at this family-friendly festival are a golf tournament, a carnival, a Pickle Launch, Pickle Bowling, a Pickleball Tournament, and the Tour de Pickle bike ride. Oh, and of course, there will be plenty of pickles to eat!

April 28-May 1: North Carolina Strawberry Festival, Chadbourn
Back in 1895, a developer turned the timberlands west of Wilmington into acres upon acres of farmland known as the “Sunny South Colony”. For a short time, this area was ‘The Strawberry Capital of the World”, and while there aren’t as many strawberry farms as there used to be, this festival, now more than 75 years old, celebrates the little red fruit that put this town on the map. Enjoy a carnival, parades, pageant queens, live entertainment, and plenty of strawberry shortcake.

April 29-May 2: MerleFest, Wilkesboro
It’s all about the music at MerleFest, which has become one of the nation’s premiere music festivals for folk and Americana music. This year’s non-stop four-day lineup of performers includes Taj Mahal, the Zac Brown Band, Little Feat, Donna The Buffalo, Elvis Costello, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, and local favorites The Avett Brothers, making a triumphant return to NC after releasing their breakthrough album I And Love And You.

May 1-2: Ham & Yam Festival, Smithfield
This festival actually began as a challenge from the ham producers of Johnson County, NC to the ham producers of Smithfield, Virginia. Now, it’s one of North Carolina’s favorite food festivals, incorporating music, agricultural exhibits, and family fun into a weekend centered around pork and sweet potatoes. Among the highlights is an open cooking contest that challenges chefs to incorporate hams or yams into casseroles, desserts, or main dishes.

May 8: Buggy Festival, Carthage
From the mid-1800's to the 1920's, the famous Tyson and Jones Buggy Factory in Carthage produced carriages that became essential to life in rural North Carolina. This festival, started in 1988, pays tribute to that company with buggy rides, a classic car show, and a golf tournament. Several old-time Tyson and Jones buggies will be on display as well.

May 15: North Carolina Potato Festival, Elizabeth City
Celebrating one of northeastern NC’s biggest crops, this annual festival in downtown Elizabeth City brings family fun and spectacular spuds to its thousands of guests each year. Expect live music, street performers, children’s activities, and plenty of potatoes for feasting.

May 22: Salute, Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is the gateway to North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley Wine Country, and this festival celebrates that fortunate fact of geography with a fun and festive day dedicated to the fast-growing NC wine industry. Delicious food and wine pairings, musical entertainment, and the interactive and educational “North Carolina Wine University” will fill your glass with a great day of entertainment in the city’s beautiful downtown district.

May 28-30 Fiddler’s Grove Ole Time Fiddlers & Bluegrass Festival, Union Grove
This celebration of bluegrass music set at a peaceful campground in the NC foothills has been going strong since 1924. Musicians and traditional music fans from all over the country come to hear performers, learn some tricks of the trade, or even participate in the impromptu jam sessions that seem to pop up everywhere during these three days of music. Watch the video

June 5: Pleasure Island Beach Music Festival, Carolina Beach
If your musical tastes lean toward the classic blues/swing/classic rock hybrid known as Carolina Beach Music, then this fun seaside festival (now in its 25th year) is the place for you. The lineup of performers usually includes some of the biggest names in beach music, and there are always plenty of opportunities for some shag dancing as well.

June 11-19 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, Morehead City
The “Big Rock” is actually a large undersea outcropping located about 40 miles southeast of Beaufort that is known as prime fishing grounds for a number of fish, including the Blue Marlin. The tournament named after that outcropping is the largest non-profit tournament of its kind, with last year’s prize purse totaling nearly two million dollars! There’s plenty of drama involved in the fishing contest itself, but the tournament also provides a variety of entertainment opportunities in Morehead City, including a Lady Angler Tournament, a dance, and a pig pickin’.

June 18-19 NC Rhododendron Festival, Bakersville
The bright purple blooms of the Catawba Rhododendron are a sure sign of summer’s arrival in the mountains of North Carolina. The Mitchell County town of Bakersville celebrates its favorite flower with two full days of events for the whole family, including a pageant, street fair, dance, car show, golf tournament, and 10K run.

June 19: NC Blueberry Festival, Burgaw
Historic downtown Burgaw is the host of this tasty event, which honors the historic, economic, and cultural significance of blueberries to this area of southeastern North Carolina. The event regularly draws more than 30,000 people for its collection of artisans, performers, and antique cars… and the festival’s main attraction, the blueberries, which are featured in a large variety of pastries and desserts.

June 19: National Hollerin’ Contest, Spivey’s Corner
Celebrate the start of summer with a shout at this festival in tiny Spivey’s Corner, about 25 miles east of Fayetteville. Created to honor a historic method of communication in the rural South, this festival is nationally known for its crowd-pleasing (and sometimes ear-splitting) hollers that contestants deliver during the contest. Admission is free, and the winner of the contest often goes on to a guest appearance on national late-night talk shows. Watch the video