Farewell to our 2022 Azalea Princess

Thank you Wilmington, you have all loved me and helped me do my very best this year as your representative! Congratulations Avery! I hope you take every open opportunity you can because the Azalea Festival is the best family out there! Forever and always the 74th NC Azalea Festival princess McKinley Grace Lanier!
An Azalea Princess New Year

This month I had a lot of “lasts” as the Azalea Princess. The Martin Luther King Jr. Parade downtown was so great! I was able to meet all 17 of this years contestants and we have been hard at work preparing for the pageant! I attended the Chefs Showcase had some of the most delicious […]
An Azalea Princess Christmas

What a wonderful way to wrap up a busy year than with Christmas events everyweekend!! December has been such a fun month with Christmas parades,Christmas dances, and the first ever Jingle on the Beach event! Christmas isone of my favorite times of the year and to be able to spend it with mycommunity was so […]
A Busy Month for the Azalea Princess

A message from the Azalea Princess McKinley Lanier… “October was great! We started off the month with the first event for the 76th annual Azalea Festival. We had our first look at the 2023 Official Artwork by Ana Brown. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, get your Limited Edition Commemorative Print before they sell out. The […]
The Azalea Spirit at the Hendersonville Apple Festival

A Note from Azalea Festival Princess McKinley Lanier…. “An apple a day keeps the rain away…. Oops that didn’t work! We may have had a cancellation for the Hendersonville Apple Festival parade but my time spent this weekend was so much fun despite the weather!! I was invited to the Gem and Mineral show and […]
Azalea Festival Princess @ NC Poultry Jubilee Festival Pageant

From Azalea Festival Princess McKinley Lanier…….. Camille’s of Wilmington has done it again!!!!! I am so lucky to have them as a sponsor! I needed a last minute dress and they showed up with THIS showstopper! It’s a beautiful Rachel Allen beaded dress; check out Camille’s of Wilmington for your homecoming, prom or wedding needs. […]
Festival Princess McKinley Lanier Travels to the Watermelon Festival!

A travel update from Festival Princess, McKinley Lanier… This weekend I had the privilege to travel to Fairbluff N.C. for the Watermelon Festival! It sure was hot but the people of Fairbluff didn’t let that drown out their celebrating!!! The watermelon was amazing and the parade was so fun! Congratulations to the new Watermelon festival […]
4th of July!

Happy Independence Day America! I was so honored to be a part of the N.C. 4th of July Festival held in Southport today to celebrate our freedom! Thank you to the wonderful Mrs. Jean Lawler for being the best parade chauffeur ever! The crowd today showed me what the 4th of July is all about, […]
North Carolina Blueberry Festival Visit

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to represent the North Carolina Azalea Festival at the NC Blueberry Festival Pageant. I enjoyed being able to share my dance talent duet with the audience and loved watching all the amazing young ladies compete. A huge congratulations to Rileigh Pederson, who served on the Azalea Princess Court […]

April was THE month!!! Best week of my life was spent with the best people for our big 75th year!!! So very thankful for all of the volunteers and committee members who put in months of preparation for our April!! We partied hard and crashed even harder after the princess duties were over, our beautiful […]