In Wilmington, North Carolina, there is usually an entire Azalea Festival that turns into a community-wide celebration. Normally, this would be accompanied by garden parties, tours of homes with amazing gardens, concerts, a street festival, a parade and fireworks. However, COVID got in the way of the typical festivities, which had to be either canceled or postponed. Wilmington, though, was not to be deterred. To keep spirits up, a “porch parade” was arranged to celebrate the Azalea Festival safely, and Planet Fitness^® clubs in the Anchor Management Group were happy to participate.

Getting involved with the festival was as easy as signing up online, and the Planet Fitness clubs in Wilmington were off and running. “We are typically very active in the community. In past years, we have participated in the street festival as well as races and community events,” explained Amber Andrews, marketing manager for Anchor Management. “Since we’ve not been able to participate at the level that we are used to, we thought this would be a fun way to not only participate but bring smiles to the faces of our members and the community.”

It was not only the club members and community who benefited, the team members involved also had a fun time!

This was the first year this sort of celebration was arranged, but the Anchor Management clubs would definitely participate again. Andrews believes that the event will return to normal in the future, but she hopes that the porch parade will remain as a way to bring the community together. “We got some amazing feedback that this model provided accessibility to the festivities for some that would normally not be able to participate,” she said.

COVID has caused a lot of upheaval, but with some creativity, it is possible to maintain community traditions like the Azalea Festival. It is all about adapting and, of course, keeping people safe.