Landon School hosted its 71st annual Azalea Festival, featuring a variety of azalea plants, food, shopping and entertainment, May 2-4. The event aims to raise funds for Landon scholarships.
The festival — open to the public with free admission — drew visitors from across the DMV. Esther Gutierrez values gardening and said she enjoyed seeing the different azalea plants displayed at the festival.
“There’s a big selection of azaleas, herbs and vegetables,” Gutierrez said. “I can tell that the plants are loved and cared for.”
Beyond displaying flowers, the festival also provided various activities and live entertainment for attendees. Popular attractions included carnival rides, bounce houses and face painting.
Landon set up their Bearly Used consignment shop in the school gym, which sold women’s clothing and accessories, gently used furniture, artwork and more.
The festival partnered with local boutiques, helping them expand their customer base. Landon art teacher Laura John, who has been selling her ceramic pieces at the festival for 11 years, said the business there is steady.
“It’s a lot of fun,” John said. “I find that there are a lot of people here who are excited to buy my work.”
Coupled with plant sales, 20 percent of the revenue earned from vendors goes back to Landon for tuition assistance. Additionally, on the first night of the festival, the ‘Zalea Bash — a ticketed evening party for adults — held an auction to fund professional development for teachers.
Azalea Festival Committee Co-Chair Gina Baum has helped with the festival for 10 years. She said that volunteers, many of whom are Landon parents, are essential in organizing this tradition.
“This year we’ve partnered up with some of the younger moms,” Baum said. “So, we can pass the torch and they can become the future chairs, and manage all the different departments.”
Landon founders Paul Landon and Mary Lee Banfield established the Azalea festival in 1954 to secure scholarship funds by selling azalea plants grown on campus. Since then, the festival has become a tradition that brings the Bethesda community together.
The social aspect of the event is important to many. Baum said her favorite part of the festival was the camaraderie between parents, teachers and students outside an academic setting.
As a Landon teacher, John enjoyed getting to talk to her former students as well as some new faces, she said.
“It’s a fundraiser for us,” John said. “But it’s also a chance for people in the community that have never been on campus to actually come see what it is we do, and figure out what Landon is all about.”
