Rhythm and blues star Patti LaBelle will perform at this year’s North Carolina Azalea Festival at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8 in UNCW’s Trask Coliseum. Azalea Festival events, which usually attract more than 300,000 people, will kick off on Wednesday, April 5, celebrating Wilmington’s artwork, gardens, history, traditions and culture during a five-day period.

Two-time Grammy winner, LaBelle is known for her hits “On My Own” with Michael McDonald, “If Only You Knew,” “You Are My Friend” and “If You Asked Me To.” Her most recent albums have been “Timeless Journey” in 2004 and a collection of remakes, “Classic Moments” in 2005.

The singer, author, actress, mother and activist has written four best-sellers, starred in her own sitcom series “Out All Night” and serves as a spokeswoman for the National Medical Association, the National Minority AIDS Council’s “Live Long, Sugar” campaign and the American Diabetes Association.

Tickets to see LaBelle will be $45 each and can be obtained by completing order forms available on www.ncazaleafestival.org, at the N.C. Azalea Festival Office or in the Wilmington Star-News office.

Other celebrity guests making appearances at the festival will be heavyweight boxer Calvin Brock and UFL football player Tarence Williams. The parade marshal is Col. Adele E. Hodges, commander of the Marine Corps Base in Camp Lejeune. Mistress of ceremonies is radio news director, Rhonda Bellamy. Other special guests include Brig. Gen. John R. Thomas of the USMC, Miss North Carolina 2005 Brooke E. McLaurin and Miss Greater Wilmington 2006 Kristen J. Dalton. Celebrity and special guests will participate in the Queen’s Welcome and the Garden Tour Ribbon Cutting, and will be available to meet and greet the public during the Queen’s Arrival, Queen’s Coronation, Garden Tour Ribbon Cutting, parade, concerts and more.

The festival’s concert entertainment and special celebrity guests were announced during a press conference Feb. 8.