THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604090164
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: 43rd Annual International Azalea Festival
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines
Highlights include the grand parade, the coronation, the ball, the air show and acres of azaleas.
Beginning Monday and running through April 21 is Norfolk's 43rd annual International Azalea Festival. The celebration will feature some 20 events attracting nearly 250,000 spectators in a massive civilian salute to the NATO organization the festival honors.
But behind all the pomp and pageantry is an ardent group of volunteers who have been toiling for more than a year to ensure that everything goes off with militarylike precision.
``I've been working on this for 15 months,'' said Jim Paxton, festival chairman. ``The closer you get to the festival the more work there is. Lately I've put in about 2 1/2 days of the work week on it.''
Each year the festival recognizes one of NATO's 16 member nations, with the Netherlands being the celebrated country for 1996. Making arrangements for Queen Emilie Larissa Patijn of Rotterdam, Holland, Netherlands ambassador to the U.S. Adriaan Jacobovits de Szeged and the more than 100 Dutch dignitaries and performers is only one part of the challenge.
``I've probably spent around 200 hours since August,'' said Ginger Lilley, embassy events chairperson, who helps arrange everything from hotel accommodations for the dignitaries to their transportation schedules and speaking engagements. ``There's a lot of coordination involved. Each committee chair has their own events to oversee, but there's crossover between all of the activities.''
Paxton, an executive consultant with Stanton Chase International, and Lilley, a marketing director with CI Travel, are among the volunteer group of 27 chairpersons and their assistants, most of whom also have careers. They say that keeping abreast of the thousands of details is among the most difficult aspects of running the festival. Attending to details means going to lots of meetings. Paxton recounts a typical day of preparation:
``I started out with an 8 a.m. meeting with an official from the Dutch embassy. Then I went to Cox (Communications) studios to do a promotional tape for the festival, then there was a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and then a meeting with the protocol committee. And then I had a meeting on the details for the Royal Marine Band. That's a typical day. As we get closer, it gets even busier.''
Making sure the media is informed and getting speeches written in the proper fashion are the major hurdles facing Julie McCollum, the public relations committee's chairperson.
``One of the most difficult things is to be sure that all bases are covered with media and that the speeches for the coronation and welcoming ceremony are correct,'' McCollum said. ``We give the queen an outline to recognize people in the proper order. Protocol is very important, especially in that the military community is much more structured than the civilian community. You don't want to offend anyone.''
Military coordination is arranged with NATO's Supreme Allied Command Atlantic, or SACLANT, which is headquartered on the Norfolk Naval Base.
``We provide the access between SACLANT and the festival committees and staff,'' said U.S. Navy Capt. Craig Quigley, senior public information officer with SACLANT. ``It's just like any other event of this scope - there are a million details.''
While festival committees and SACLANT attend to much of the event's coordination, the city and the Norfolk Division of the Chamber of Commerce are the festival's major sponsors, along with myriad corporate support. The festival's annual budget is $200,000 to $250,000.
``The Chamber of Commerce is kind of like the headquarters for the festival,'' said Kristin Bakke, a Chamber staff member who serves as the festival director. ``I kind of liken preparing for the event to the climbing of a mountain. We're right about at the peak now.''
The daunting schedule, however, is not quite as formidable as in years past. Paxton and festival officials have streamlined the event for 1996, citing studies that show a more compact celebration to be more effective in reaching a larger segment of the public. Most activities will take place between the morning of April 18 and the night of April 20.
``We did a lot of research on festivals around the region and found the most successful ones limit the major events to a three- or four-day period to better keep the public's attention,'' Paxton explained.
The number of activities has been reduced from about 30 in 1995 to 20 this year. Great Britain was the honored nation in 1995 and accordingly there were a lot of rugby and soccer matches that aren't being held this year. There also is no film festival this year.
Some activities have been relocated. NATOFest, a carnival-like celebration that features cultural performances and displays from the honored nation, has been moved from the Norfolk Botanical Garden to the more centrally located Nauticus Celebration Pavilion. The Dutch Village exhibit, where Dutch craftsmen will make wooden shoes along with other arts and crafts, is designed to bring more family activities to the festival. A community breakfast April 18 at Scope was added this year to attract the business community.
Among the celebration's highlights is the free performance of the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands on April 18 at Chrysler Hall. The parade, of course, set for April 19 in downtown Norfolk, is always a big draw. But perhaps the event's most visible display is the air show above the Naval Air Station April 20 and 21. This year's jet acrobatics should be especially impressive as the Blue Angels celebrate their 50th anniversary. The pilots will be the parade's grand marshals.
The festival's true pomp and grandeur, however, is found in the queen's coronation April 20 in the Norfolk Botanical Garden. The annual dinner and ball at the Omni later that night is the social highlight of the weeklong event.
Orchestrators of the Azalea Festival agree that the production demands a lot of effort but emphasize that the task is worthwhile.
``There's an awful lot to do, but it's for the right reason,'' Quigley said. ``It's to recognize the efforts of the men and women of NATO.''
Meeting people and the satisfaction of a job well done also are big parts of the reward.
``Sometimes when I think of all the work, I wonder why we do it,'' said Lilley, who has been a volunteer with the festival for the past six years. ``But being involved with this gives you the opportunity to meet fascinating people from other countries and some interesting Norfolk folks I never knew. And when the master headache turns into something special, that's really meaningful. All this pre-planning makes show time look effortless, and that's what we strive for.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
The Blue Angels, who will perform April 20 and 21, are celebrating
their 50th anniversary this year. These photographs, taken 50 years
apart, contrast their past with their present.
Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
Ginger Lilley, embassy events chairperson, is one of many who have
worked on this year's Azalea Festival.
by CNB