The North Carolina Holiday Flotilla Navigates Stormy Season

2018 North Carolina Holiday Flotilla – Courtesy of Samantha Black

Zambelli Fireworks at the 2018 North Carolina Holiday Flotilla – Courtesy of Jeoffrey Nathan

The North Carolina Holiday Flotilla – Courtesy of Ned Leary Photography

Following two hurricanes and nearly 33-inches of rain since Sept. 1, skies cleared and the 35th NC Holiday Flotilla launched the Carolina holiday season

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA, USA, November 26, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Following a record-breaking downpour on Saturday, plus two hurricanes and almost 33-inches of rain since September 1, the skies cleared and the 35th annual North Carolina Holiday Flotilla officially launched the Carolina holiday season.

“We are Wrightsville Beach strong,” said Linda Brown, Committee Chair of the Flotilla, after enduring several hours of heavy rain with 30-mph winds earlier in the day.

“We are all survivors and will not give up,” said Mary Baggett, of Blockade Runner Beach Resort. “Hurricane Florence tried her best, but the flotilla goes on.”

Saturday’s rainfall of 1.64-inches surpassed the previous record set in 1983. Combined with wind gusts up to 39-mph, staging conditions were challenging for crew members of world-renowned Zambelli Fireworks. In spite of the day’s obstacles, the fireworks display was “a show of a lifetime,” said. Brown.

Saturday night’s North Carolina Holiday Flotilla featured a procession of twenty creatively decorated yachts and watercraft, each glittering with thousands of lights, slowly motoring past an estimated crowd more than 50,000. The flotilla ended with a massive and dazzling Zambelli fireworks display.

“I want people to know that you can have a devastating storm and no matter how tough you think it is to get back to “normal,” it can be done,” said Brown.

Click here for Holiday Flotilla Winners and Photos

The 14th annual Airlie Gardens’ Enchanted Airlie, another holiday tradition with international prominence, began Friday, Nov. 23, and is open for 20-nights through Dec. 22. A limited number of tickets are available for the 2018 season.

Click here for tickets to Enchanted Airlie

Contacts:

Linda Brown, Committee Chair
North Carolina Holiday Flotilla
910-256-2120
info@NCHolidayFlotilla.org

Janine Powell, Director of Donor Relations
Enchanted Airlie, Airlie Gardens
Office: 910-798-7703
jpowell@nhcgov.com

Robert B Butler
Communications | Public Relations
www.NCPressRelease.org
www.RBButler.com

Permission granted for reprint and redistribution – photo credits required

#NCHolidayFlotilla #EnchantedAirlie #WrightsvilleBeach #BlockadeRunner #AirlieGardens #Wilmington #NorthCarolina #AirlieGardens #FlotillaWeek #WBStrong #WrightsvilleBeachStrong #WilmingtonStrong

*Airlie Gardens’ Enchanted Airlie was named a Top 20 Event in Fall 2015 and North Carolina Holiday Flotilla was named a Top 20 Event in Fall 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Robert B Butler
North Carolina Press Release
919-455-8345
email us here