Virginia’s Flower the Dogwood

Francesca Black, staff writer

Charlottesville heats up in the spring with events left and right. The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival is one vital event that celebrates the state flower as well as Virginia in the spring.

The festival is broken up into different parts including the Dogwood Carnival, held at McIntire Park.

The Dogwood Festival began in the 1950’s and stands as one of the longest running Charlottesville events. The carnival portion of the festival runs from April 11 – 28. This includes various stands for food such as caramel apples, funnel cakes, and burgers.

There are also multiple rides for all ages including the “zipper” and the Ferris wheel. T.D. Layman, from the Dogwood Board of Directors, said, “The carnival has been a staple of the Dogwood Festival since the beginning 70 years ago. The number of rides we have has increased since the early years and the rides are more thrilling.” On April 12, the carnival will light up with the Festival’s Firework show.

The hours are Monday – Friday 5:30-10:30 p.m., Saturday 1-11 p.m., and, Sunday 1- 8:30 p.m.

Layman added, “The most popular part of the carnival is Armband Night. The armband allows you to ride all of the rides, all night long for $20.” Armband nights are Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, excluding April 11. On all other nights, a sheet of tickets will be $20 and single tickets will be $1.