The Dogwood Festival Rocks Fayetteville, North Carolina

At Fayetteville, North Carolina, the city holds an annual Dogwood Festival during the last weekend of April. Well over 100,000 people visited this 25^th such Dogwood Festival in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with the Saturday festivities bringing in some 65,000 people alone. Read on and be inspired to make plans to be in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for next year's Dogwood Festival!

The importance of Dogwoods to this city is paramount. More than 25 years ago, some 50,000 Dogwood trees had been planted along various Fayetteville streets. City officials wanted to celebrate the beauty of springtime here; and with that, the Dogwood Festival was born in 1983 as the mayor of that time declared Fayetteville, North Carolina, "The City of Dogwoods". This year, it was held for the first time at Festival Park, which reflects the redevelopment of the downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina, area. Previously, the Dogwood Festival was based in the heart of Fayetteville on Hay Street.

Overview and Opening Night Friday

Throughout the whole weekend, The Dogwood festival was similar to a county fair, full of arts and crafts tables, food and toy stalls, quilt judging, carnival rides, and special events to help raise money for community organizations. But for me and thousands of others, it was the music that took prevalence.

The weather in Fayetteville, North Carolina, had been breezy and rainy earlier in the afternoon, so I was a bit concerned that my first Dogwood Festival would be soggy, but sunny skies prevailed by late afternoon. Opening night of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival officially got underway when Mayor Chavonne honored his predecessor, Mayor Pitts (and his administration), for his vision in getting the Festival Park initiated amidst controversy. Pitts said that none of the city improvement projects that he and others pushed for came "without struggle".

Opening night of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival was spearheaded by the energetic music of southern rock group Nantucket, who hails from the state of North Carolina. Over the years, Nantucket has been showcased with such rock music icons like KISS and the Charlie Daniels Band. Nantucket's heydays were the 1970's and 1980's, but they can still rock! One of the songs that really brought down the house had one musician playing the saxophone like a virtuoso.

This particular Friday night corresponded with the city's monthly 4^th Friday festivities, which take place nearby in the center of town. 4^th Friday celebrates the local arts and culture scene in the Hay Street area every fourth Friday of the month except December.

Saturday's Highlights

Once again, the Dogwood Festival Gods chose to provide perfect weather for the whole day! Saturday was a day made especially for the children. Local community organizations set up an area just for them, where the big highlight was a presentation about sharks. One man lectured outside a 5,000 gallon tank while one tank diver was inside hanging out with one nurse shark and one lemon shark (called that because its back is deep yellow). This diver was hugging the creatures! The lecturer stated that sharks can tell the difference between human and fish blood, preferring the latter. Still, I wouldn't want to get cut while swimming in the ocean!

So many Fayetteville, North Carolina, and other families with little babies were expected to attend, that the festival staff set up a Rock-A-Bye Baby tent for nursing mothers, which included rocking chairs and diaper changing tables. Many hands on activates for the kids included fishing games, face painting, and picture frame creating. This kept them occupied throughout the day in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

JoJo's Performance a Let Down

Thousands of people jammed the 3.5 acre concert lawn that surrounds the Dogwood Festival performing stage in anticipation of the performance by pop star JoJo circa 8 p.m. JoJo is the youngest singer to ever achieve a Billboard #1 hit (at the age of 13). She's also starred in feature films, such as RV with Robin Williams. I felt like a sardine packed tightly during my time watching the show directly in front of the stage, some 50 feet back. Parents put their children on their shoulders, which obstructed the views for many in the crowd. But technical difficulties delayed JoJo's arrival on stage for about 60 minutes, much to the chagrin of the restless fans, many of them elementary school-aged girls who chanted "We want JoJo!" over and over again.

When she came out, pandemonium broke out in this Fayetteville, North Carolina, park, and it was virtually impossible to get a good picture. So many fans who were in front of me held their hands up, partly to get pictures with their cell phones, and partly to have fun, I guess. JoJo only performed 45 minutes of music that evening in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She spoke on stage about her frustration over the continuing "technical difficulties", commenting at one point that she was on her fourth microphone. She asked part of the crowd if they could hear since one of the speakers may have malfunctioned. JoJo performed her past and current hits like "Too Little Too Late (my personal favorite studio song of the artist)" and "Anything", which is a modern pop interpretation of Toto's "Africa". Only a couple of her live performances sounded as good as her studio cuts (partly due to the "technical difficulties"?). JoJo's powerful rendition of "The Way You Do Me" is a really good live song, full of fast-paced R&B energy, though it's better suited to clubs than family venues because of its suggestive lyrics. Still, her drummer really went all out on this tune, and showed his incredible talent throughout the Fayetteville, North Carolina, Dogwood Festival show.

Best Saturday Night Show by Ethan Hanson

To me, the best show of the night was performed by JoJo's opener, the up and coming local acoustic guitar musician Ethan Hanson and the band that backed him up, called Guy Unger Phaxtion, which performed without "technical difficulties". They really rocked the park, especially with an Allman Brothers instrumental cover version of "Revival". After the show, Ethan Hanson had another engagement at a local pub. Ethan has already made an impression on music lovers in North Carolina and the surrounding region with his brand of music that is influenced by many different styles. He loves to play a variety of covers, including those by The Eagles and Eric Clapton. At last year's Dogwood Festival, he was in the opening lineup for Hootie and the Blowfish. He'll turn 18 this June, and is very well grounded for a young man. Ethan Hanson is planning a two or so week tour around the states that surround Fayetteville, North Carolina, as well as future engagements in Florida, where he's planning on attending college this fall.

Earlier that day, before he was to perform at the Dogwood Festival, I had a chance to speak with Ethan Hanson in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. I asked him about his future plans; that is, where he wanted to see himself in five years. For starters, he hopes to get his own record label and studio to sign other artists. But he's philosophical about the pursuit of fame and riches, saying, "If you feel good about yourself, you don't need to be famous. It would be nice to get my message out to a lot of people, (but) I wouldn't want to take anything away from what I do with my own music. The most important thing is the journey, not where you end up."

Speaking of travels, I asked Ethan Hanson if he had written any songs that focus on travel. His tune, "Pump 13" does make a connection to travel as an analogy to relationships. Hanson recited some of the lyrics for me:

You got me switching lanes
And barely missing trains
Speeding off through the night
I'll drive right besides you
Until my world goes blank
As long as you fill up my tank

Some of the favorite international music of Ethan Hanson comes from Spain; that is, the sounds of the flamenco guitar. As for his dream venues that he'd like to visit as a tourist and/or perform at if he had the opportunity, he replied that San Diego was such a place for him, remarking, "They have a great music scene there, and it's a good place to get started." One of his favorite performers, Jason Mraz, got his start there. Besides entertaining crowds at the Dogwood Festival in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Ethan Hanson himself has performed at a couple of open mic sessions in San Diego while visiting his aunt.

Go to the website of Ethan Hanson at the "Resources" section below to sample some of his music and to purchase his CD release of Ethan Hanson "Alive".

Yes, it's events like the Dogwood Festival in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where music legends are born! Whenever you are traveling and have time, check out the local festivals because you'll witness firsthand the heart and soul of a community!

Next year's Fayetteville, North Carolina, Dogwood Festival will be held April 25-27, 2008.