A Brief History of Newberg’s Camellia Festival
The camellia has been part of Newberg’s history for decades. In 1949, a Newberg civic club urged for the adoption of the Camellia as the city’s official flower. The flower itself, native to south east Asia, was a particularly popular plant among gardeners at the time. While the most famous species, C. sinensis, is used to make tea, other species provide beautiful blooms well suite to Oregon’s climate. Ordinance 1055 was passed in April, 1949, making the city flower official. The president of the Men’s Gardening Club, Lloyd Baron, designated April 21-23, 1949 as “Camellia planting days,” with camellias being offered to the public at a discount.The plant’s elegant flowers and dark green foliage bring beauty to residents’ yards, city building landscapes and even Newberg’s flag. Since 2009, the annual Camellia Festival has put the spotlight on the early bloomer with a variety of events that introduce visitors to the stately flower.
While the Camellia remained popular into the 1950s, including bloom shows in Newberg and Portland, interest in gardening clubs as whole waned in the 1950s and ‘60s. Other than the nickname “Camellia City,” Newberg did little to celebrate its official flower. However, in 2008, then president of the Oregon Camellia Society, Dennis Dooley, learned about the flower’s status, and proposed a bloom show to the city. Dooley’s initial emails were passed on Bryan Stewart, then head groundskeeper for Chehalem Parks and Rec. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the flower’s adoption by Newberg, “Camellia Day” was planned for April 4, 2009. About fifty people attended the bloom show and event held at the Newberg Public Safety Building.
Audience watching a performance in the front lobby at Chehalem Cultural Center’s first Camellia Festival, 2010.
The Chehalem Cultural Center opened in 2010. Its first event: The Camellia Festival. The first festival at CCC included features that would become festival mainstays: a bloom show, plant sale, vendors, food, and performances. In 2019, around 6,000 people attended the festival (and the affiliated Walk/Run). Two pots with Camellia complex reticulata hybrid grace the building’s entrance, providing beautiful pink flowers.
The festival has become a celebration of community, culture, and history.