Let’s Paint at the Richmond Sunflower Festival!

I visited this location for the first time last week, and was amazed by the variety of things to see and do. Walking from the free parking lot towards the ticket booth, there were several enclosures with sheep and goats and free running chickens and roosters to enjoy.

To the right of the ticket booth is a very large farmers market selling local produce, pies and preserves at reasonable prices.

To the left of the parking lot is the country farms winery with a lovely garden to enjoy a glass of wine and some charcuterie. Wine tasting at $5 for five wines. What a deal!

Sunflower gardens entrance fee: general admission $17, seniors $12.

Entrance fee includes parking, a train ride past a duck pond, around fields with cows and sheep, and past the sunflower fields, vineyards, and blueberry fields. Also a free wagon ride to the entrance to the three sunflower fields.

The first sunflower field is a gorgeous garden filled with huge flower beds of Dahlias and border plants, surrounded by tall sunflowers. The second sunflower field features two animatronic dinosaurs towering over 20 varieties of sunflowers, with a couple of food trucks nearby. The third sunflower field is a sunflower maze and it’s beautiful!

We’ll meet in the central area after you’ve paid for your ticket, where you wait for the wagons that bring you to the sunflower fields. Once most of us have gathered together, will take the next wagon to the first sunflower field. You can also walk to the fields.

I’ll paint in the first field. It’s such a large place that you might enjoy wandering around and painting in other areas. To show our work, we can either meet near the entrance to the first field, where the wagon dropped us off, or back in the main area where we got on the wagon. We can decide when we’re there. I’ll post a message with our decision for anyone who comes late.

Afterwards, people could shop in the farmers market or we could meet up at the winery and enjoy a glass of wine in the gardens.

I think it’s going to be a wonderful day and I look forward to seeing you there Sunday. Check out the photos I posted.