It is a time for dual celebrations in Wilmington this weekend, with the annual North Carolina Azalea Festival commencing for the 69th time in the Port City on the same weekend when the U.S.S. North Carolina celebrates its 75th anniversary.
The two events will cross paths Saturday, April 9, when the Azalea Festival queen, members of the court and other guests celebrate the anniversary on the decks of the battleship during a 1:15 p.m. ceremony, including cake to celebrate the ship’s anniversary.
This year’s queen, Fox News host and former University of North Carolina Wilmington student Anna Kooiman, and guests will get a glimpse of how the battleship looked in its early days, as a crew of active duty personnel from Camp Lejeune will work to bring the ship alive.
Sailors from the Second Marine Divisions and Marines from the Second Tank Battalion will join with the U.S.S. North Carolina’s living history crew, wearing World War II-era Marine and Navy uniforms while entertaining visitors with their knowledge of both the ship and the time period.
“This is a unique event in which Marines and Sailors from the Second Marine Division are volunteering their own time to share their maritime services’ history and heritage with the fine people of Wilmington,” said Lieutenant Commander Jason Constantine, battalion chaplain and an event organizer.
There will be 46 active duty personnel volunteering as part of the birthday celebrations for the ship, which was first commissioned on April 9, 1941, at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. At the time, she was considered the world’s most powerful naval vessel, armed with nine 16-inch guns and 20 5-inch guns. The ship went on to participate in every major battle in the World War II Pacific theater, earning 15 battle stars.
While the battleship is one of Wilmington’s most recognizable sites, fans of the Azalea Festival parade may recognize another familiar institution that has been around almost as long. The Port City Silly Clowns will make an appearance in the parade for the 60th consecutive year.
To commemorate the milestone, the Port City Silly Clowns will cut the ribbon for the Azalea Festival parade Saturday. Leading the way for the Silly Clowns will be their chief prankster, 74-year-old Thomas Marsh. As a teen, Marsh was entertained by the clowns he saw in the parade’s early years, and began learning the craft.
“When I first had the chance, I got in the parade in 1956, and followed it up every year,” he said. “I just enjoyed the devil out of it.”
Nine clowns currently perform in the troupe, which also clowns around at private functions and other area events, including regular appearances at the North Carolina Blueberry Festival.
If you don’t see Marsh coming, you’ll likely hear him. As walking the parade route is proving more difficult for him, he now uses a specially outfitted golf cart to move down the route. The cart is designed to attract attention, with bells, horns, radios and other noisemakers.
“Everything you can think of. I play it all at one time,” Marsh said.
After 60 years of clowning, Marsh has learned how to work the crowd while moving down the parade route.
“I’m hollering and pointing to people in the crowd,” Marsh said. “Those that want to be recognized, they’ll be waving at you and trying to get your attention. I like to let them know that I see them and recognize them. I’ll holler out their name or nickname if I know it.”
The Azalea Festival parade is one of the largest events held in southeastern North Carolina, drawing upwards of 100,000 visitors, organizers said. The parade kicks off at 9:25 a.m. at city hall for the national anthem and a flyover from the Bandit Flight Team. The parade gets underway a few minutes later on its path down Third Street at Market Street before ending a few blocks away at Red Cross Street.
