Update 2022-03-09: Pictures.

Come back to Drexel Park to help WWALS celebrate spring with 30,000 of our south Georgia and north Florida friends, at the Azalea Festival in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia. We will have information about our outings and advocacy (yes, including Valdosta wastewater), the new Water Trail brochures, and pictures for sale Gretchen took of our rivers, plus a kayak raffle.

Things will be a little different this year: “The Azalea Festival is a 100% all outdoor event. Patrons are encouraged to socially distance and wear masks.”

When: 10AM-6PM Saturday 13 March 2021
10AM-3:30PM Sunday 14 March 2021

Volunteer: If you are a WWALS member and you have had both vaccinations against COVID-19, we could use some help at the WWALS booth.

Where: Drexel Park, 1401 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA, 31601
30.846771, -83.285066
That’s east across Patterson from VSU and north of Brookwood Drive.
It is on One Mile Branch, which flows into Sugar Creek, then the Withlacoochee River, the Suwannee River, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Drexel Park is upstream of Wainwright Drive, where WWALS did a cleanup in November 2017, and Valdosta spilled 218,075 gallons of raw sewage in 2019, as well as other years. You can help with cleanups or water quality testing.

Event: facebook, meetup

Booth, children, kayak
Photos: John S. Quarterman, of WWALS at Azalea Festival 2019.

Schedule: https://www.visitvaldosta.org/Play/azalea-festival2

What: About, Azalea Festival,

Valdosta’s annual Azalea Festival is a family festival showcasing the best of South Georgia with live music, food, crafts and fun!

The 2019 Azalea Festival was an overwhelming success. Approximately 25,000 attendees from all over the Southeast came to Valdosta to enjoy two full days of vendors and entertainment. Patrons enjoyed entertainment on six different stage areas, 200 arts-&-crafts vendors, a food court, KidZone, and a whole lot more.

This event has become a regional festival attracting attendees from all over the Southeastern United States. In 2019, we had over 200 arts & crafts, food, and entertainment vendors from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. In addition, last minute hits on our website indicate that people are travelling from as far away as the Carolinas, Alabama, and throughout Florida to attend the Azalea Festival. And why not? Admission is free and it’s great fun!

Map: Drexel Park to Withlacoochee River. Drexel Park is highlighted towards the lower right in this WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS calendar or the WWALS outings and events web page. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

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