Calendar

Your guide to event-related travel in the Southeast

GEORGIA

Lookout Mountain — Shamrock City, March 10 and 16-17, is Rock City’s Irish celebration featuring music, food and the waterfall turned green. www.seerockcity.com/shamrockcity.

Madison — The Do Tell! Storytelling Festival, March 22-23, features Kevin Kling, Andy Offut Irwin and others, along with a tour of homes, antiques show, and other community events. www.mmcc-arts.org. Reynolds — The Georgia Strawberry Festival, April 27, has a 5k run, teddy bear parade, arts and crafts, fire truck pull, lawn mower race, vintage tractor show, live music and more. www.ga-strawberry.org.

ALABAMA

Theodore — The Azalea Bloom Out at Bellingrath Gardens and Home, through March 31, has more than 250,000 blooms. www. bellingrath.org.

Mobile — The Festival of Flowers, March 21-24, celebrates its 26th year. www.festivalofflowers.com. Gardendale — The Magnolia Festival, April 26-27, will have vendor booths, a car show, a midway carnival, live entertainment and fireworks. www.magnoliafestival. org.

FLORIDA

Stuart — The Single Fin Showdown Surf Festival, March 14, is one of the largest one-day amateur surf and skim festivals in the state. www.ohanasurfshop.com. Perry — The annual Florida State Bluegrass Festival & Chili Cook-off, April 4-6, features the Grascals, Mile Twelve, Nothing Fancy and more. www.facebook.com/FloridaStateBluegrass.

Tallahassee — Springtime Tallahassee, March 29-30, has live music, a grand parade, children’s park and entertainment stages throughout. www.springtimetallahassee.com.

LOUISIANA

Lake Charles — Mardi Gras Southwest Louisiana, through March 5, features the annual 12th Night Celebration, parades, galas and more. www.swlamardigras. com.

Lake Charles — The Iowa Rabbit Festival, March 14-16, features a rabbit show, a rabbit cook-off, carnival rides, live music and the Miss Bunny beauty pageant. www.visitlakecharles.org.

Port Allen — Kite Fest Louisiane’, April 6-7, brings professional kite fliers and hobbyists to fill the skies while kids enjoy inflatables, face painting and kite-making classes. www.westbatonrouge.net.

NORTH CAROLINA

Sylva — The ninth annual Assault on Blackrock, March 23, is a trail race through the spruce forests along the spint of the Plott Balsam Mountains. www.discoverjacksonnc.com.

Wilmington — The North Carolina Azalea Festival, April 3-7, features concerts, arts shows, a street fair, home and garden tours, a parade and special exhibits. ncazaleafestival.org.

Cullowhee — Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon & 5K, April 6, welcomes runners from across the country. www.discoverjacksonnc. com.

Lexington – Depot District Music Fest, April 13, features Delbert McClinton, Turnpike Troubadours and Sister Hazel in the revitalized Depot District of Lexington, the barbecue capital of North Carolina. www.depotdistrictfest.com. Mount Olive — The North Carolina Pickle Festival, April 13, has a bike ride, pickle packing production challenge, pickle eating contest, pickle derby and more. www.ncpicklefest.org. Wrightsville Beach — The Carolina Cup Paddle Race, April 24-28, attracts many of the top professionial paddlers in the world, as well as amateur and elite racers. wrightsvillebeachpaddleclub.com/ carolina-cup.

Beaufort — The Wine and Food Weekend, April 24-28, hosts events from intimate wine dinners to a culinary tour of 300 wine labels, all in the name of charity. www.beaufortwineandfood.com. Sylva — Greening Up the Mountain, April 27, celebrates the arrival of spring in the mountains and includes information about sustainable living, arts and crafts, live music and more. www.discoverjacksonnc.com.

Burnsville — Inaugural Mountain Acoustics Luthier Invitational, May 24-26, highlights the work of some of the finest luthiers in the Southeast with exhibits, workshops, live music. www.mountainacoustics.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Hilton Head — The Hilton Head International Piano Competition, March 11-18, brings pianists from all over the world to compete in four rounds of performance. www. hhipc.org.

Rock Hill — The Come-See-Me-Festival, April 12-21, has signature events like the Beach Bash, Moonlight Jazz & Blues and Gourmet Gardens in addition to live music, sports and a barbecue cookoff. www.comeseeme.org.

Mount Pleasant — The Blessing of the Fleet & Seafood Festival, April 28, offers a boat parade, live music, craft show and more. experiencemountpleasant.com.

TENNESSEE

Pigeon Forge — A Mountain Quiltfest, March 19-23, includes a quilt show and vendor mall in addition to five days of classes for all skill levels. www.mountainquiltfest.com.

Knoxville — The Big Ears Festival, March 21-24, features acts Altered Statesman, Alvin Lucier, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Bela Fleck, Coupler, the Punch Brothers and more. www.bigearsfestival.org. Chattanooga — Dread Hollow, much like the haunted version of Ruby Falls, is scheduled March 23 and 30. www.dreadhollow.com. Pigeon Forge — The Chuck Wagon Cookoff, March 29-30, is a western-themed day where cook teams prepare food over an open fire, in cast iron, using only spices available to original cooks on the trail. www.mypigeonforge.com/ events/cookoff.

Savannah — The TN River BBQ Battle & Music Fest, March 29-30, features professional cooking teams from across the country competing for prizes, live music, games and more. tnriverbbqbattle.com.

Lawrenceburg — The TN Music N’ Food Fest, April 5-6, features live music, food trucks and carnival rides. www.lawrenceburgtnrotary.org.

VIRGINIA

Richmond — The Craftsmen’s Spring Classic Art & Craft Festival, March 8-10, features pottery, fine art, jewelry, glass, furniture, sculpture, instruments and more. www.craftshow.com.