Posted 11:05 am Sunday, March 16, 2008
Crowds Flocks To Azalea Trail Activities
By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer
Everything but azaleas, and no one seemed to notice.
Staff Writer
Everything but azaleas, and no one seemed to notice.
Azure skies, bowl-licking good chili, and the sight of Bergfeld Park's green lawn strewn with quaint craft arts and packs of barefoot children made the 49th Annual Azalea Trail kickoff a delight for hundreds on Saturday.
Few azalea blooms peeked out from the pristine yards of Azalea District homes to greet the trail-goers' first weekend.
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One more week and the quintessential shrubs should flower at full force for miles around, said Lynn Moore, who tended his bevy of pink azaleas on College Avenue.
"This is the place to live," said Moore, whose brick-street home is enveloped by Azalea Trail events each year.
Locals aren't the only ones reveling in the habit of Azalea events - many visitors said they travel more than 100 miles every year.
Mike Neesen, of Dallas, lounged at a park table, talking and people-watching with his father, Valery Neesen, of Nebraska.
"It's enjoying not working, that's what this is for," he said. "We come to Tyler whether there's a festival or not. It's a great place to get away."
Neta Rohr, Garland, works on her chili for the Rotary Club of Tyler 6th Annual chili cookoff on Saturday. She was the 1997 CASI Texas Ladies State Champion.
Clinking wind-chimes reverberated through the park where smells of roasted corn and fried pickles caught the noses of hungry arts-and-crafts shoppers.
In the open lawn, four children scurried toward a family's black-and-white Great Dane and gingerly asked if they could pet him.
"It's just lovely here," said Betty Woods, a Huntington resident who sat in her wheelchair that was half occupied with toys, balls and goodies belonging to her 8-year-old grandson, Devin Lout.
Mrs. Woods, her daughter, Omega Lout, and Devin spent the morning at the zoo before stopping at Bergfeld Park.
"I love coming back here," said Mrs. Woods, who grew up in Tyler. "We didn't remember Azalea was happening 'til we saw the tents."
Nearby, a young couple tended to their crying newborn as their curious boxer looked on. Two bicycle police officers chatted on the sidewalk corner, eyeing the traffic.
"I'm gonna have funnel cake for about a week," said a gray-haired man, carrying a plate mounded with sugar-dusted fried cake.
Earlier in the day, the Fourth Annual Tyler Rotary Club Chili Cookoff served up some 350 bowls of the meaty, tomatoey stew before its 36 competing cooks - a rowdy bunch - awaited awards at 3 p.m.
Chris Gissendanner, of West Monroe, La., jumped up as his name was called for first place.
"My secret is, I talk to people who cook the best chili," said Gissendanner, a third-year participant. "There are a lot of talented cooks here."
By late afternoon, most visitors were hungry again and lined the booths at Bergfeld where limeades, deep fried cobbler and burgers were sold.
Tyler resident Barbara Stroope settled against a large oak in the middle of the park to munch on chili fries.
Her two grandkids, Brandon Dillard, 11, and Alexi Dillard, 7, and her daughter, Kim Stroope, circled around her.
"I go to this every year, just the first weekend," Mrs. Stroope said. "But we drive the Trail all the time. And if anyone is in town to visit, we take them on it, too."
