VALDOSTA — Organizers are gearing up for Valdosta’s 24th Azalea Festival at Drexel Park this weekend, and they’re hoping Mother Nature cooperates.
“We’re kind of at the mercy of the elements,” said festival executive director Aaron Strickland. “We just have to work with what comes our way.”
According to the National Weather Service, what’s coming Valdosta’s way Saturday is a 50-80% chance of thunderstorms, followed by partly cloudy skies Sunday, the two days of the festival.
“We take many precautions,” Strickland said. In the event of severe weather, visitors would have to leave while vendors would have to secure their venues, he said.
“South Georgia weather always tends to change at the last minute,” Strickland said.
About 25,000-30,000 visitors are expected based on previous festival turnouts, he said.
Between 275-300 vendors are also expected to be on hand, Strickland said. “Every year we get slightly more than the year before,” he said.
Many of the vendors are professionals who cover a large area of the country on a circuit, Strickland said.
Among the activities offered at the Azalea Festival are five stage areas of live entertainment, a KidZone area for children, a classic car show and an Azalea 5k run.