Hail the Rhododendron
The 77th Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival kicks off this weekend.
For 77 years, folks around Roan Mountain have celebrated the rhododendron.
The broadleaf evergreen shrubs pop around around and top of the mountains in mid-June with never-ending bouquets of purple flowers. It’s a beautiful site, enough to lure nature-loving travelers like those leaf-peeping in the fall.
The annual Rhododendron Festival has been lovingly organized by the Roan Mountain Citizens Club every year since 1947. The group is not bashful about their love for the rhododendron. They say they stage the festival to ”to memorialize and perpetuate the most gorgeous display of natural beauty on the North American continent.”
The most famous Roan Mountain rhododendron bloom at the mountain’s peak. Way up there, the shrubs and flowers blanket the apex in a stunning display of natural beauty.
“”In a good year a single bush might boast over 100 clusters of flowers while hundreds of bushes spread out over the mountain.””
”In a good year a single bush might boast over 100 clusters of flowers while hundreds of bushes spread out over the mountain,” wrote Jennifer Bauer Wilson in her book, “Roan Mountain, A Passage of Time. “Catawba Rhododendron bushes are so plump and round that they appear to have been pruned by the hand of man to achieve their perfect shape, yet the only sculpture work on Roan Mountain is that of Mother Nature.”
The best spot to see the flowers is closed this year. The Roan Mountain Recreation Area is undergoing a renovation this year by the U.S. Forest Service.
But the festival is still on. For years the events was held right on top of Roan Mountain. But in recent years, organizers moved it to the foot of the mountain at Roan Mountain State Park.
The festival will feature over 100 arts and crafts vendors, local food, live entertainment, and demonstrations. All proceeds go to Roan Mountain area community projects at local schools, fire departments, and more.
While you can’t see the mountain’s famed rhododendron gardens, you can still hike out and see the flowers. Click here to find a bunch of alternatives hikes from the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. You can also find Tennessee rhododendron here from Tennessee State Parks.
