CityView Magazine

20 | April 2015 there was an ever-present sense of humor with Red. "During a press conference, a reporter asked how he slept, Red replied, 'Not well. ose trees. ey barked all night,'" Hurley remembered with a slight chuckle. The First Father of Dogwood As explained previously, Mayor Bill Hurley tapped downtown commercial real estate developer John Malzone in 1982 to lead the Fayetteville Dogwood Festi- val effort. "Oh Bill… he's a prince," emphasized Malzone when asked about his thoughts on Hurley. Both men were visionaries who were able to make the festival a reality, even in light of the decrepit and debaucherous state of downtown Fay- etteville in those days (for those who remember). "Bill saw beyond that. It took so much courage to build downtown. Most people wanted to just bulldoze," said Malzone. "In those days, a lot of people did not feel good about Fayetteville. e Dogwood Festival's intent was to make people realize that our city is a great place and in the springtime… one of the most beautiful places in the country," said Malzone. e Vietnam veteran turned real estate professional and event and community organizer explained that the Dogwood Festival started out with a board of over 25 movers and shakers in the community, led by a smaller board made up of Mayor Hurley, Malzone, the chairman of our Chamber, and the commanders of Pope Air Force Base and the 18th Airborne Corps teamed with the then-head of the county commission. "So with that we could do just about anything we wanted to," Mal- zone humble bragged. e Dogwood Festival began with no budget, aside from only $3,000 donated by Clyde Sullivan. In 2015, the budget is now in the hundreds of thousands. Mon- ies that Carrie King and now Jackie Tuckey put to use in attracting hundreds of thousands of revelers to our city during the last weekend in April. 2015 Festival Details When: April 24-26, 2015 Friday, April 24th 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, April 25th Noon to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, April 26th Noon to 6:00 p.m. Friday, April 24th Noon to 10:00 p.m. All you can ride wristbands: $25 Saturday, April 25th Noon to 7:30 p.m. Tickets only Sunday, April 26th Noon to 6:00 p.m. Tickets only Photography by Anna Lester

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