Summerville's Flowertown Festival 2025

Summerville is at present shimmering in a sea of magnificent multitudinous masses of magenta. It is the annual azalea bloom putting on its best dress for the upcoming Flowertown Festival hosted in Summerville's Azalea Park. In the past few years due to pre-spring warm-ups, the grand show was long gone by the time the festival arrived.

The flowers are the official doorkeepers of spring greeting all to the celebration of warmer days. Drive anywhere on the streets in the town's historic district between Central Ave and S. Main Street and you will be convinced Summerville is rightfully crowned the "Flower Town in the Pines."

Rightfully called the "Flower Town in the Pines" because Summerville is also famous for its pine trees, but unfortunately, the pollen bloom that rains down from their branches when the weather warms is not enthusiastically embraced with happy celebration like the azaleas. With that being said, pine trees and azaleas are a perfect collaboration because azaleas grow well in their shadows.

The varieties of azaleas are as bounteous as its blooms thanks to hybridizing, or crossbreeding. They are native to North America, so it is likely they greeted our arriving ancestors in some form. All North American species are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves. The evergreen varieties come from Japan, where they can be hundreds of years old.

The azaleas that helped make Summerville famous are most likely the non-native variety. The first hybrids were planted in Charleston, South Carolina. John Grimke Drayton imported the Azalea Indica from Philadelphia where they were grown only in greenhouses by a nurseryman who also had a branch nursery in Charleston and introduced them into the estate gardens of his rice plantation on the Ashley River. Marie Clinton Hastie wrote about the beginnings of her grandfather's garden, "it was somewhere in the mid 1840s that the Azalea Indica was introduced to Magnolia." His garden was the first in America to plant azaleas outdoors. An interesting fact of history: The plantation house was burned during the Civil War. In 1873, John Grimke Drayton had his small, pre-Revolution summer house in Summerville taken apart and moved by barge down the Ashley River, where it was rebuilt on the ruined house's foundation.

Azalea Park visitors in the early days

In 1932, Grange Cuthbert became the mayor of Summerville. He came up with the plan to take some of the land deeded to Summerville by the "Civic League" between Central Avenue and Magnolia Street and turn it into a mid-town paradise. George Segelken, a pioneer in azalea propagation, entered the picture. Thanks to his generosity Summerville became the place to see these prolific plants in all their abundant glory in 1935. People came from all over to view the lush beauty of the town's Azalea Park. Segelken named the salmon pink colored azalea "Pride of Summerville." The park is the predominant venue of the Flowertown Festival.

The Flowertown Festival ranks as one of the largest festivals in the Southeast with an origin that goes back to 1973. The three-day festival also carries the well-deserved distinction as one of the Top 20 events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society, attracting over 200,000 attendees. One of the main features of this family-oriented festival centers on the promotion of arts and crafts. More than 200 craft artisans and vendors are given the opportunity to showcase their creative wares throughout Azalea Park.

The current festival was predated by a previous event in 1941, when Summerville celebrated the first Azalea Festival--a four-day event that included dances, concerts, a parade, and a formal ball. The festival promoted local business and celebrated the town's community pride, a pride as old as its trees. Summerville's rich history dates all the way back to the late 1600s.

Somes things about the Flowertown Festival seem to never change, such as the many familiar vendors you see every year. However, some things have changed. There was a time when a replica of the Hunley was featured as you entered S. Main Street next to the Townhall.

Also, the 2025 Farmer's Market will begin on Saturday April 5, hours 8am-1pm.

Well, that is Summerville—azaleas and the biggest festival in the Southeast. While visiting for the Flowertown Festival, when you see me walking around town be sure to say, "Hey." I am always interested in making new acquaintances.

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