WILMINGTON — The Cape Fear Garden Club announced the cancellation of its 2021 Azalea Garden Tour Monday, citing concerns about time, financial and safety risks without a Covid-19 vaccine likely to be widely disrupted in time for the event.
Since 1953, the garden tour has been a staple of the NC Azalea Festival. Tour-goers pay a fee for entry into multiple well-tended landscapes, from elegant estates under live oak canopies to pollinator havens blanketed with native plants.
The cancellation of the garden tour for the second year means another lost opportunity to raise funds for various New Hanover County nonprofits, which annually rely on grants from the club for their education, conservation and beautification efforts.
Related: Decades-long Azalea Belles tradition stopped as petition emerges, community reflects
Between 2003 and 2019, the Azalea Garden Tour distributed $1.2 million throughout the community. Each year, Cape Fear Community College and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington were given money for scholarships and organizations such as the North Carolina Audubon Society received standing grants.
Sherry O’Daniell, garden club president, said she couldn’t specify the total amount of proceeds the club missed out on last year with the cancellation of the 2020 event. However, she did say the club was considering alternative means of fundraising.
“We feel the health of our members, garden owners and community is priceless and far outweighs the revenue lost,” she added.
While the club’s officers are aware the cancellation may seem premature, they maintain it is necessary. To pull off the yearly event, it takes 24 committees, with duties ranging from ticket sales to photography. Over 100 members are involved in the planning process, which begins two years in advance.
“It takes a lot of people power and time to successfully orchestrate the garden tour,” O’Daniell said.
The gardeners also need sufficient time to prepare: the festival’s signature flower – azaleas – need to be pruned before the Independence Day of the previous year to bloom in time for the spring tour.
There were also monetary considerations. During a review of finances, the oversight committee and the club’s treasurers found many expenses associated with the tour’s organization were non-refundable and had nearing deadlines.
“The large increase in Covid-19 cases and reports that the public vaccines would not be available to the majority of citizens until April were also factors in canceling the tour,” O’Daniell explained. “It looked to us that holding our garden tour, though outside, would be an unwise thing to do at this time.”
On the upside, the cancelation of the event should allow time for the club to explore alternatives to its Azalea Belle tradition; the garden club announced in June it would do away with the youth program to pursue a more inclusive option.
The 50-year tradition involved high school girls attending festival events in antebellum-era garments. The club members were concerned the girls would receive backlash in the form of verbal remarks or social media posts.
During this time off, the Azalea Garden Tour Committee will also be brainstorming and garnering feedback from the community to improve the next tour in the spring of 2022.
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