Find food, music and of course flowers at local farms
August is sunflower season and Greg and Amber Pollock, the owners of the 20-acre sunflower farm SunFox Farm in Concord, will host a Sunflower Blossom Festival for the next two weekends, Aug. 9 and Aug. 10, and Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Greg said he and his wife Amber were inspired to grow sunflowers by a trip to Italy.
“We were driving through these vast sunflower fields that were all past bloom,” he recalled. “Part of me just wanted to see that in all its glory. And then another part of me wanted to learn this new crop and new style of farming.”
The first year the Pollocks planted sunflowers, “as soon as they bloomed I was just blown away,” Greg said. “I threw a post out on Facebook and we had hundreds of people come through. That was the birth of our Sunflower Festival. It’s just grown ever since. This is our seventh year growing sunflowers.” From a simple invitation for friends to come look at the sunflowers, he said, the festival has grown quite a bit. “We just try to make it better and better every year.”
“Each day, we’ve got live musicians and food trucks and artisan vendors,” Greg said, “and paths through the field. We’ve got viewing decks to get you up high above the flowers. You can cut your own sunflowers as well and you’ll be surrounded by 500,000 blooms.”
“We’ll have over 20 vendors each weekend,” Amber added. “[Guests] can cut their own flowers. A lot of people will purchase lunch or dinner and hang out at some of our picnic tables. We set up yard games. So it’s sort of just a family day. You can go right into the field. We have the paths that are cut into the field that will get you right out into the middle of the farm. And we’ve got a nice big bridge that gets you 10 feet up, so you’re way above the flowers looking out, taking it all in and, you know, it’s truly an immersive experience.”
Ten miles away, in Canterbury, there will be a second sunflower celebration. Brookford Farm will host its annual Sunflower Soiree from Aug. 9 through Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
According to farm owner Luke Mahoney, this yearly event is a way to celebrate the short period between planting and harvesting crops.
“Every year we plant two and a half acres of sunflowers,” he said, “and we invite folks to come to the farm and enjoy the most beautiful time of the year. They can pick their own sunflowers and there is a sunflower stroll where we cut a path right through the field. There will be lots of photo opportunities and there is an observation tower that we built out of a shipping container where people can come up on top of. They’ll be standing 12 feet in the air, overlooking the sunflower field. And really, they’ll be overlooking the whole farm. We’re a 600-acre organic farm and the sunflowers are planted right in the middle of it. So from the tower you really get a good view of the whole farm.”
There will be farm-to-table food available, Mahoney said — both from the Brookford farm store, and hot prepared meals — as well as live music on the weekends, hands-on craft activities for children, a vendor market, and two cow parades daily. At 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., guests can watch the farm’s cows “marching” to and from their barn. “On the way out to pasture, and when they come back in for milking in the evening, they walk again through the event grounds,” Mahoney said.
And then, he pointed out, there is always a chance for an unexpected, value-added experience. “Last year, we had three or four calvings, live births happening during the event.”
SUNFLOWER FESTS
Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road in Lee, 659-3572, nhsunflower.com) has ended its festival but is holding its Sunflower Variety Garden through Sunday, Aug. 10, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admision costs $6 per person 5+.
SunFox Farm’s (Gully Hill Road, Concord, 244-9888, sunfoxfarm.org) Sunflower Bloom Festival will take place Aug. 9, Aug. 10, Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Adult admission is $12 per day. Children 10 and under are free. Cut your own flowers, $2 per stem. Visit sunfoxfarm.org/sunflowerfestival.
Brookford Farm’s (250 West Road, Canterbury, 742-4084, brookfordfarm.com) Sunflower Soiree will take place Aug. 9 through Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. General admission tickets are $12.51 and children’s tickets are $9.31 through eventbrite.com. Visit brookfordfarm.com/store/product/sunflower-soiree.
Featured photo: Brookford Farm (courtesy).