Blooming foliage accompanied by a permeating sense of “spring fever” set the ideal stage for the upcoming annual Azalea Festival. Plans are in the making for this year’s 57th North Carolina Azalea Festival, scheduled to occur in the Port City March 31 through April 4. This year’s festival will combine the expected traditions of the past and contemporary musicians and spokespeople. In addition to the traditional riverfront street fair, complete with food vendors, live entertainment and music, two well-known national musicians will be performing at Trask Coliseum. Brad Paisley and Jessica Simpson are scheduled to perform on two of the five days of the festival. Fox News’ Dari Alexander will be appearing this year as the 2004 North Carolina Azalea Festival Queen. Each year the Azalea Festival attracts tourists from great distances and locally as well. According to the Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, it is estimated that more than 350,000 people attended the 2003 Azalea Festival. Downtown service industry employee Jaclyn Hansen, senior anticipates this year’s Azalea Festival with excitement. “I really like the atmosphere of downtown when Azalea Festival is approaching,” Hansen said. She plans to take advantage of the opportunity to potentially make extra money with the large crowds and increased business that Azalea Festival brings Historic Wilmington. Jessica Bunn, senior and Johnston County native grew up hearing about the festival and sees the Azalea Festival as a popular event in Southeastern North Carolina. “This will be the first Azalea Festival I’ll be able to attend,” Bunn said. Last year, school responsibilities and work kept her from attending. The Azalea Festival is scheduled to kick-off March 31 with a concert at Trask by popular Country singer Brad Paisley at 8 p.m. Paisley, no newcomer to the country music scene, has been opening for such acts as The Judds since he was 13. This past year, he has topped the charts so far with his newest hit “Little Moments,” coming in at number six on the Billboard and R&R country airplay charts. Paisley is one of Bunn’s favorite male country singers and she is excited to see that he’s taking the time to put Azalea Festival on his schedule. “It’s too expensive for me to afford as a college student right now, but I’m really glad to see that he’ll be entertaining on UNCW’s campus, nonetheless,” Bunn said. Following Paisley’s performance, Jessica Simpson is scheduled to appear at Trask April 2 at 8 p.m. Simpson, who began her singing career in the church where her father served as a youth minister, has been all over the charts in 2004. She has been releasing pop albums since 1999 and is currently in the process of promoting her album, In this Skin. Simpson’s reality television hit “Newlyweds,” which she co-stars in with husband and former 98º band member Nick Lachey, brought her much recognition in 2003. On April 3, downtown is anticipated to be bustling. A parade will be the feature on Saturday, complete with floats, marching bands, clowns, show animals and local and national celebrity appearances. Fox News’ Dari Alexander will be officiating as the 2004 Azalea Festival Queen. Alexander is now a national news anchor but she has worked her way up from reporter and has also worked as an associate producer for “CBS Evening News,” “CBS This Morning” and “60 Minutes.” Alexander will be joined by other such celebrity guests as Dana Reason, the former Miss North Carolina 2003; Evander Holyfield, former heavyweight champion of the world; John Candelaria, former Pittsburgh Pirate professional baseball player and Barry Corbin who plays Whitey Durham on the locally filmed WB show, “One Tree Hill.” The celebrities may be seen and in some instances met at the following Azalea Festival events: Queen’s Arrival, Queen’s Coronation, Garden Tour Ribbon Cutting and the parade. Tickets for the Brad Paisley and Jessica Simpson concerts may be obtained with order forms from www.ncazaleafestival.org.