Southport Magazine

Folks gather around the stage at last year’s Southport Spring Festival. Photo by John Sherrill.

What: Southport Spring Festival
When: Fri.-Sat., March 29-30
Where: Various locations in Southport
Cost: Craft fair is free; $5 to taste and vote in the chili cookoff; $20-25 for 5k run and walk
Info: www.downtownsouthport.org
www.southport-oakisland-kiwanis.org

As the red and pink blossoms of azaleas peek out for the first time this year, the Southport Spring Festival will get underway to welcome the warmth and sunshine Easter weekend. Fittingly considered the “thinking of home bush” in Chinese culture, azaleas will be on sale as they are during each festival, and locals and tourists alike certainly will flock to the multiple events celebrating the season.

“There are actually two favorite parts of the Spring Festival for me,” Peggy McDonald of the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club tells. The club co-sponsors the event along with Downtown Southport, Inc. “[One is] providing the opportunity for local musicians and kids from both dance and vocal groups to perform, and [the second is] the camaraderie of working with members of both the Kiwanis Club and DSI. We really do have a good time.”

The festival will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 29th, with an expected number of 130 arts-and-crafters showcasing their wares at Franklin Square Park (105 E. Moore St.). From pottery to barbecue sauce, silk floral arrangements to fudge, jewelry to weather vanes, there will be something for everyone at the festival’s craft fair. Only handmade, original products are accepted. Artists already registered will be traveling from as far as Maryland, Tennessee and Florida to attend. Of course, many regional artists will be on-hand purveying such items as watercolor and giclee prints, homemade dog treats, alphabet photography prints, and more. Registration to participate as an arts-and-crafts vendor is open until March 22nd, and the application is available online at www.downtownsouthport.org. The craft festival will carry on until 5 p.m. Friday, and it will reopen at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 30th. It remains open through 4 p.m. Saturday evening.

As well, musical entertainment, children’s activities, and the annual Kiwanis plant sale will go down during the event. The sale will include azaleas, camellias, a variety of herbs, and more.

“We estimate our attendance to be around 14,000, and we attract many tourists during the Easter weekend,” Peggy Popelars, president of DSI, reveals. “We have been told by some of our visitors that they schedule their calendar for Easter weekend to come to Southport for the craft festival.”

New this year to the over-25-year-old shindig is the sports expo, taking place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the North Carolina Maritime Museum (204 E. Moore St.). The expo is a prelude to the fourth annual Kiwanis 5k run and walk. “This is an opportunity for some of our local retailers and past supporters to exhibit their products,” race director and Kiwanis member Roger Magill details. “Those participating are Omega Sports, Live Oak Nutrition, Side Street Bakery, Adventure Kayak and Ocean Outfitters. These merchants will have special values and discount coupons available for our runners and for the general public.”

The race, which has grown from 153 participants in its first year to 214 last year, will take off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 30th. The application is available online at www.southport-oakisland-kiwanis.org. Pre-registration received before March 30th is $20; registration at the Whittler’s Bench (Waterfront Park at the foot of Howe St.) from 6:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. on March 30th will be $25. The entry free includes a Kiwanis 5k T-shirt while supplies last. Shirt pick-up and registration will take place at the sports expo, too.

“Our run will begin at the Whittler’s Bench and wind through historic downtown Southport,” Magill says. “Overall male and female winners as well as the top-three winners in each male and female age group will receive a Ricky Evans print. All of our race proceeds go to service the youth of Brunswick County.”

Those who participate in the run and walk—and even those who spend the day shopping at the craft fair—may work up a great appetite. Grumbling stomachs will be satiated during the 31st annual Robert Ruark Chili Cook-off on Saturday, March 30th. The deadline to register (application is available at www.downtownsouthport.org) is March 18th, and chilis accepted may be traditional red chili or chili verde as described by the International Chili Society. “Because of space, we do limit our participation to 11 chili chef teams,” Popelars explains. “Typically a team has about four to six members.”

Voting will be completed by the public and by judges. DSI suggests each team prepare 10 gallons of chili, as up to 750 attendees have purchased the $5 tickets to sample and vote in past years. This allows for a two-ounce sampling per guest from each team. Chilis will be assessed on flavor, texture of the meat, consistency, blend of spices, aroma, and color.

The tasting and voting will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and once ballots have been cast and counted, the winners will be announced on the festival stage. Four cash prizes will be up for grabs, from $50 to $500 for the first-place winner in people’s choice. Cook-off planners also encourage each team to name their chili and to build a theme around that name, including costumes and decorations. There will be a winner of themes, too.

If chili isn’t one’s dish of choice, the Southport Spring Festival will have nearly all palates covered. “There will be 10 food vendors again this year,” McDonald says. “Foods included will be: hot dogs with chili; Cajun grilled chicken; German bratwurst; Polish kielbasa; Philly steak and cheese; Italian sausage; funnel cakes; homemade ice cream; strawberry shortcake; Italian ice; teriyaki chicken on a stick; vegetable fried rice, fried noodle and egg rolls; kettle corn; pork skins; popcorn; cotton candy; snow cones; shrimp and grits; jambalaya; BBQ ribs; [and] turkey drums.” Of course, lemonade, tea, soda and water come standard to wash it all down.

“The Spring Festival symbolizes the beginning of spring,” Popelars expresses, “with the beautiful weather, flowers blooming, visitors coming into town, and seeing our locals with their children and grandchildren.”