Norfolk NATO Festival Collection, 1954-2015 | Sargeant Memorial Collection

By Will Hopkins

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Collection Overview

Title: Norfolk NATO Festival Collection, 1954-2015

ID: 001/01/MSS 2015-009

Primary Creator: Norfolk NATO Festival (1953-)

Extent: 19.0 Boxes

Arrangement: Arranged in original order, generally in chronological order. Photographs are separated by size in chronological order.

Date Acquired: 08/12/2015

Subjects: International Azalea Festival (Norfolk, Va.), Norfolk (Va.), Norfolk (Va.)--Social life and customs--20th century, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, North Atlantic Treaty Organization--Anniversaries, etc., Organizations, Portrait photography, Spring festivals--Virginia--Norfolk--History

Forms of Material: Booklets, Brochures, Clippings (information artifacts), Correspondence, Financial records, Invitations, Membership lists, Photographs, Portraits, Press releases, Programs

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Official documents, correspondence, promotional materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, and memorabilia collected by the Norfolk NATO Festival in Norfolk, Virginia.

Biographical Note

The Norfolk NATO Festival began in 1953 as the International Azalea Festival, with main events held at the city's expanded Azalea Garden (now Norfolk Botanical Garden). The Festival soon became associated with NATO, which had established an Atlantic headquarters in Norfolk in the early 1950s. Festival queens were selected from various NATO member countries, and annual Festival events had member-country themes. Notable American queens included Linda Baines Johnson, Tricia Nixon, and Susan Ford. The event was renamed the Norfolk NATO Festival in 2010. It remains the longest-running festival in Virginia.

Subject/Index Terms

International Azalea Festival (Norfolk, Va.)
Norfolk (Va.)
Norfolk (Va.)--Social life and customs--20th century
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
North Atlantic Treaty Organization--Anniversaries, etc.
Organizations
Portrait photography
Spring festivals--Virginia--Norfolk--History

Administrative Information

Repository: Sargeant Memorial Collection

Access Restrictions: This collection is open to all researchers.

Use Restrictions: The status of copyright for these materials is governed by Copyright Law of the Unitied States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.

Acquisition Source: Norfolk NATO Festival by donation

Preferred Citation: Norfolk NATO Festival Collection, MSS 2015-009, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.

Processing Information: Processed in March 2020.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: Records, 1962-1995],
[Box 2: Records, 1998-2006],
[Box 3: Records / Photographs, 1954-2008],
[Box 4: Photographs, 1999-2007],
[Box 5: Photographs, 2007-2014, undated],
[Box 6: Photographs, 1983-2000],
[Box 7: Photographs, 1990, 2001, 2003],
[Box 8: Memorabilia, circa 2003-2013],
[Box 9: Tiaras, circa 2007-2009],
[Box 10: Sashes, circa 2007-2009],
[Box 11: Oversized Items, 1983, 1998, 2014],
[Series 1: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits],
[All]

Box 1: Records, 1962-1995

Folder 1: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1962: Includes programs and invitations.
Folder 2: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1965: Includes correspondence, committee member lists, and ephemera.
Folder 3: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1967: One brochure.
Folder 4: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1972-1975
Folder 5: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1985-1988: Includes correspondence, proposed budgets, minutes, brochures, and press materials.
Folder 6: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1989: Includes correspondence and brochures.
Folder 7: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1990: Includes a brochure, invitation, and booklets.
Folder 8: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1991: Includes booklets, correspondence, brochures, press materials, and photographs.
Folder 9: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1992-1993: Includes a brochure and an invitation.
Folder 10: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1994: Includes promotional materials.
Folder 11: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1995: Includes promotional materials.

Box 2: Records, 1998-2006

Folder 1: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1998: Includes brochures and an invitation.
Folder 2: Records, International Azalea Festival, 1999: Includes promotional materials and an invitation.
Folder 3: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2000: Includes brochures and promotional materials.
Folder 4: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2001: Includes brochures, promotional materials, and invitations.
Folder 5: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2002: Includes brochures and an invitation.
Folder 6: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2003: Includes correspondence, promotional materials, and invitations.
Folder 7: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2004: Includes promotional materials.
Folder 8: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2005: Includes brochures, promotional materials, and invitations.
Folder 9: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2006: Includes brochures, promotional materials, and invitations.

Box 3: Records / Photographs, 1954-2008

Folder 1: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2007: Includes correspondence, promotional materials, and invitations.
Folder 2: Records, International Azalea Festival, 2008: Includes correspondence, promotional materials, and financial records.
Folder 3: Queen identification cards, 1954-1986: Includes information about the queen and her family.
Folder 4: Miscellaneous records, 1989, undated: Includes the Festival's 1989 Articles of Incorporation.
Folder 5: Book, Norfolk's International Azalea Festival, 2002
Folder 6: Photographs, Azalea Queens I-XVI, 1954-1969: Includes the first queen, Pat Priest, Luci Johnson, and Tricia Nixon.
Folder 7: Photographs, Azalea Queen XXX and officials, 1983
Folder 8: Photographs, 1991
Folder 9: Photographs, Blue Angels, 1997

Box 4: Photographs, 1999-2007

Folder 1: Photographs, Azalea Queen XLVI and court, 1999
Folder 2: Photographs, Azalea Queen XLVII and court, 2000
Folder 3: Photographs, Azalea Queen XLVIII, court, and events, 2001
Folder 4: Photographs, Azalea Queen XLIX, court, and events, 2002
Folder 5: Photographs, Azalea Queen L, court, and events, 2003
Folder 6: Photographs, Azalea Queen LI, court, and events, 2004
Folder 7: Photographs, Azalea Queen LII, court, and events, 2005
Folder 8: Photographs, Azalea Queen LIV and court (Folder 1 of 2), 2007

Box 5: Photographs, 2007-2014, undated

Folder 1: Photographs, Azalea Queen LIV and court (Folder 2 of 2), 2007
Folder 2: Photographs, 2008
Folder 3: Photographs, Azalea Queen LVI and events, 2009
Folder 4: Photograph, Model NATO Challenge, 2010
Folder 5: Photographs, NATO Student Diplomats, circa 2009-2014
Folder 6: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, undated

Box 6: Photographs, 1983-2000

The photographs in Box 6 are approximately 4x5" photographs.

Folder 1: Photographs, International Azalea Festival Doll Display, circa 1980s: Six photographs.
Folder 2: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1983
Folder 3: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1988: Two photographs.
Folder 4: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1990: Five photographs.
Folder 5: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1991
Folder 6: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1993: One photograph.
Folder 7: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1995
Folder 8: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1998: Two photographs.
Folder 9: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 1999
Folder 10: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 2000

Box 7: Photographs, 1990, 2001, 2003

The photographs in Box 7 are approximately 4x5" photographs.

Folder 1: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 2001
Folder 2: Photographs, International Azalea Festival, 2003
Folder 3: Photographs, Unidentified International Trip, circa 1990 November: Also includes unidentified social gathering, circa 1990.
Folder 4: Negatives, International Azalea Festival, 2001

Box 8: Memorabilia, circa 2003-2013

Item 1: Artifacts and various memorabilia, circa 2003-2013: Includes scarf and neckties, cocktail and wine glasses, small NATO flags, miniature Dutch shoes, a Festival t-shirt, a hockey puck, a cut glass paperweight, pencils, and various pins and commemorative coins.

Box 9: Tiaras, circa 2007-2009

Item 1: Tiaras, circa 2007-2009: 31 tiaras, of which 4 tiaras are unopened. The tiaras were worn by festival court members.

Box 10: Sashes, circa 2007-2009

Item 1: Sashes, circa 2007-2009: 28 sashes with NATO-member countries' names. The sashes may have been used in approximately 2007-2009 for the Princesses on the Queen's court.

Box 11: Oversized Items, 1983, 1998, 2014

Folder 1

Item 1: Photograph, Azalea Queen XXX Lorene Stokes, 1983

Item 2: Promotional poster, circa 2014

Item 3: Print, Norfolk Botanical Garden, 1998

By artist Charles Kello.

This item is rolled.

Series 1: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits

Box 1: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1954-1958: Patricia Ann Priest; Olivia Barbour Twining; Nell Eastland; Lady Carey Coke; Patricia Jane Lemay.
Box 2: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1959-1963: Bonnie Ruth Buchanan; Paula Layton Pace; Lynda Bird Johnson; Margaret Anne Goldwater; Verita Korth.
Box 3: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1964-1968: Gene Zuckert; Luci Baines Johnson; Kari Borten; Monique Van Den Boeynants; Cari Luns.
Box 4: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1969-1973: Tricia Nixon; Ulrike Ahlers; Sarah Rippon; Maria Theresa Sanches; Heather MacDonald.
Box 5: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1974-1978: Frances Tonarelli; Valerie-Anne Giscard d'Estaing; Susan Elizabeth Ford; Cecilie Countess Lambsdorff; Henrietta Charlotte Aleida van der Klaauw.
Box 6: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1979-1983: Joanna Edwina Knatchbull; Monique Hamilius; Brigitte Borch; Melanie Pappas; Lorene Alison Stokes.
Box 7: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1984-1991: Roberta Marini; Alexandra Victoria Dibdin Heseltine; Andrea Rose Carter; Beate Holm Pedersen; Antje Margarete Ruhfus; Oya Soley Turkman; Katrin Sverrisdottir; Isabella De Ruyt.
Box 8: International Azalea Festival Queen Portraits, 1992, 1998-1999, 2004: Matilde Herrero de Zulueta; Helena Winther; Susanne Scharping; Rossella Caruso.