Recognize Wilmington 70 years ago? Rarely seen video shows Azalea Festival Parade in 1953

A piece of Azalea Festival history was recently uncovered thanks to a northeastern North Carolina city.

The Facebook page Echs Nhs Band Videos was made to highlight photos and videos taken of the bands for Elizabeth City and Northeastern high schools.

One of its earliest finds was footage of the Elizabeth City High School band in the 1953 Azalea Festival Parade, which you can see below:

It's unknown if the band's pit stop for food, which begins the video, happened in or near Wilmington. However, the footage does show the band unpacking its buses and getting ready near the parade route.

One float is shown and then some cars before the band is shown performing in downtown Wilmington on Third Street. According to the 1953 Elizabeth City High School yearbook, the band was part of the parade and a dance.

It was the band's second-straight appearance in the parade, part of frequent appearances throughout the 1950s.

Wilmington flashback: The famous faces and memorable moments in Azalea Festival history

Azalea Festival in 1953

The year marked the sixth edition of the now longstanding event, which saw its first full decade in the 50s.

In 1953, the Azalea Garden Tour was introduced by the Cape Fear Garden Club, which replaced the "Pilgrimage" walks of earlier festivals.

Actress Alexis Smith made it to Wilmington, reportedly on four hours' notice, to fill in as Azalea Queen after the announced candidate fell ill.

University of North Carolina football great Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice, by 1953 an NFL player at Washington, made his fifth appearance at the Wilmington festival.

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While the majority of events around the festival now center in April, in 1953 they were in late March.

One event did happen in April: The Azalea Open. The golf tournament, played at Cape Fear Country Club, was a tune-up for The Masters.

It was also the first of Jerry Barber's three Azalea Open titles. Barber also won the PGA Championship in 1961.

There was one "incident" the Azalea Festival Committee addressed in its post-Festival report of 1953.

According to the April 1, 1953 edition of the Wilmington Morning Star, the report cited three New Hanover County Commissioners "thwarted the committee's efforts to make some 1,650 bleacher seats available for the accommodation of visitors and Wilmingtonians and to help the annual celebration financially."

Hugh Morton, the first Azalea Festival president in 1948 and known statewide for his prolific photography, said the lack of bleachers meant a loss of near $1,500. While there were rumblings of legal action, Morton and the committee decided to not pursue it and instead take the loss.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Video footage of Wilmington NC in 1953 from N.C. Azalea Festival