Azalea Festival Celebrates Native Plant, Benefits The Cottage School

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The first ever Roswell Azalea Festival will kick off Saturday, and will serve as a tribute to the heat and drought-tolerant plant native to Georgia.

The festival runs April 11-20, and events will take place throughout Roswell. The festival initially started as an effort to increase awareness of The Cottage School and to create a scholarship endowment fund for that school.

However, it was quickly realized that the festival should also embrace all of Roswell and focus on the beauty of the Azaleas during their peak blooming season.

Scheduled events include the following:

• April 11 – Plant Sale at the Chattahoochee Nature Center with a special focus on native azaleas and how to utilize them in your landscape.
• April 12 to 19 – Native azaleas in bloom along the woodland trails of the Chattahoochee Nature Center. For the last 30 years staff and volunteers have been planting native azaleas all over the gardens at the Nature center. These shrubs are now spectacular and put on a show every year from early spring to late summer. The best time to visit CNC to see masses of native Azaleas will be in April when the Piedmont Azaleas will be in bloom not only in the gardens but also along the woodland trails. Most of the time you will be made aware of them before you see them because they have a lovely fragrance which wafts through the air.
• April 18 & 19 – Artist Joan Hilliard will host an art signing at The Chandlery featuring a painting created for the Azalea Festival with a portion of proceeds benefitting The Cottage School.
• April 18 – Roswell Farmers and Artisans Market opens at City Hall with over 40 vendors, chef demo, music and children’s activities.
• April 19 – The Cottage School Gala at Ivy Hall at Roswell Mill with dinner, dancing, live auction and special guests. Gala starts at 6:30 p.m. Ivy Hall is at 85-A Mill Street. Proceeds will benefit The Cottage School Scholarship Endowment.
• April 20 – The Cottage School Invitational Golf Tournament at Brookfield Country Club, 100 Willow Run, Roswell. Shotgun start at noon. Proceeds will benefit The Cottage School Scholarship Endowment.

In 1985 when The Cottage School was created, the founders envisioned a school that embraced a diverse cultural and socio-economic population. Realizing that private school tuition is out of the reach of many families with students who need what The Cottage School provides, the founders were committed to providing scholarship aid to those families unable to afford the payment of full tuition.

To ensure that the original vision of the founders continues, the scholarship endowment will be established during the Azalea Festival for future students preparing to successfully navigate the global workplace.

For more information, please visit the festival’s website.

Photo. Azaleas outside Smith Plantation. Credit: Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau