The N.C. Azalea Festival runs April 9-13 and is expected to draw more than 200,000 visitors to the annual two-day street fair and more than 100,000 to
watch the festival parade, according to organizers.

Each April since 1948, the festival has showcased art, entertainment, galas and Southern hospitality, growing into quite an enterprise.

“The festival has an economic impact of $54 million,” said Casey Richardson, executive director of the Azalea Festival.

She began work in November after the festival’s board made a decision to hire someone to oversee the work of more than 100 committees and 1,400 volunteers.

“The committees were all focused on their part, but they needed someone to have an overview, to bring cohesiveness,” Richardson said.

Richardson said there are three full-time employees, herself included, and 12 seasonal and part-time employees on staff. The organization continues to look for ways to grow.

“We will work to do more in the future to shine a spotlight on the festival nationally,” Richardson said. “In the past two years, the outdoor concerts have been good for getting a national audience.”

The Avett Brothers were last year’s concert headliners, and this year brings Widespread Panic.

“We have people coming from all over the country this year to come to the concerts, some from as far away as California. It’s pretty tough to get a hotel in the city right now,” Richardson said.

The festival website offers a new, free app download to make event information easily accessible. It includes detailed ticket information, ticket prices, interactive maps and opportunities to interact with festival celebrity guests through social media.

“So far there have been 100,000 downloads of the app,” Richardson said. “It’s the best way to push information out. As we grow, the capabilities of the app will grow.”

The Southeast Tourism Society again selected the Azalea Festival as a Top 20 Event in the Southeast for April 2014.