Blue Ridge Country May/June 2023 - 74

Catawba rhododendron, late afternoon clouds
and mist frame a mystical Smoky Mountain
view as seen from Woolyback Overlook,
Milepost 452 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near
Cherokee, North Carolina.
In the 1920s, Appalachian State University
in Boone, North Carolina, published
the college's very first yearbook.
They dubbed it " The Rhododendron. " A
decade after that, Arkansas-born singersongwriter
Elton Britt released a lonelysounding
song titled " Where the Rhododendron
Grows. "
Then, in 1947, the Citizen's Club of
Roan Mountain in Tennessee and the
Bakersville Lions Club in North Carolina
banded together to host the very first Tennessee
Rhododendron Festival. Complete
with music, dancing, crafts and a pageant,
the celebration took place amid 600 acres
of blooming Catawba rhododendron. The
event was so widely attended that the
town of Bakersville hosted its own gettogether
in 1952.
More than 70 years later, the obsession
persists. Each spring, hundreds flock
to the mountains of Tennessee and North
Carolina for each respective festival. Celebrations
have cropped up elsewhere too,
with a month-long jubilee now taking
place in Beckley, West Virginia, each May.
Despite all the fanfare, rhododendrons
Flora Festivities:
RHODODENDRON EVENTS THIS SPRING
Georgia Rhododendron Festival. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through
May 14 at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee. Crafters, live
music, food, drinks, plant sale, seminars and more. Also tour Hamilton
Gardens.
georgiamountainfairgrounds.com/
localevents/id/227
Tennessee Rhododendron Festival. Now in its 76th year, the Tennessee
Rhododendron Festival will be hosted on the top of Roan Mountain
(elevation 6,285 feet) on Saturday and Sunday, June 17 and 18. Expect
handmade crafts, bluegrass music and old-timey demonstrations.
roanmountain.com
West Virginia Rhododendron Festival. Each May, the City of Beckley hosts a
month-long tribute to the rhododendron with concerts, garden tours, photo
competitions and more. beckley.org
North Carolina Rhododendron Festival. Slated for Friday, June 16, to
Sunday, June 18, the North Carolina Rhododendron Festival in Bakersville
features a pageant, craft fair, 10K and two nights of street dancing.
ncrhododendronfestival.org -LS
74 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
have managed to maintain their mystique.
Case in point: There are still conflicting
thoughts on whether or not the
wood is toxic when burned.
" Out of an abundance of caution, I
would likely avoid it, " Griffin quips. Scientists
also argue that there are undiscovered
species of rhododendron lurking in
far-flung hills and hollers. Rhododendron
smokianum, for instance, was discovered
just two years ago in the Great Smoky
Mountains.
I think that's why I stayed in my
sleepy-eyed hometown with the rambling
rhododendron thicket. Sure, these
plants tug at my heart and remind me
of my childhood. But in their dark and
damp mystery, they also remind me that
there's more to this place than meets the
eye. That there's something to be discovered
in the ordinary, if only you're willing
to look.
ROBERT STEPHENS
http://www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com/localevents/id/227 http://www.roanmountain.com http://www.beckley.org http://www.ncrhododendronfestival.org http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2023

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