WEST BLOCTON, Ala. (WIAT) — The Cahaba Lily Festival is this Saturday, and everyone is invited to attend and enjoy the festivities.

The event is being held at the Cahaba Lily Center in downtown West Blocton. The event features guest speakers, the crowning of Miss Cahaba Lily and a brunch.

It’s all about celebrating the lily that’s found on the Cahaba River here in Alabama. CBS 42 spoke to organizers about the importance of this event as well as Miss Cahaba Lily herself.

“We will have numerous updates on everything related to nature and wildflowers and outside, and then our last featured speaker is Dr. Larry Davenport of Samford University,” said Lisa Buck of the Cahaba Lily Festival Committee. “He is the world’s leading authority on this flower, and he will do his talk about romancing the Cahaba lily.”

I definitely want to talk to our young students about that and get them excited for it because they are our next generation,” 2023 Miss Cahaba Lily Aldyn Deerman. “So I think I definitely think that they need to be involved in that as well.

This is the 34th annual Cahaba Lily Festival, and it’s free. The event was held virtually during the pandemic.