The Kelly Family Farms Sunflower Festival — the only event of its kind in Delta, and one of the only sunflower festivals in all of B.C. — is returning for its second year beginning this Wednesday, July 17.
More than 400,000 sunflower seeds have been planted in the farm’s picturesque fields, which borders the Pacific Ocean in Boundary Bay.
Last year’s debut edition of the festival was a great success, says Jenna Kelly, who planted the sunflowers alongside her sister, Nicole.
“Everybody who attended loved it and said it was so beautiful, and they were thankful that we did it,” she says.
Kelly Family Farms is not only one of Delta’s most historic farms, but one of its most historic enterprises of any kind.
James Kelly, Jenna’s great-grandfather, established the farm in 1896. It remains family owned and operated to this day; Jenna is part of the fourth generation of Kellys tending the farm and growing its crops, alongside siblings Brian, Lauren and Nicole, and parents Brent and Jenny.
Yet despite the farm’s 126-year history, it wasn’t until 2016 that Jenna began growing sunflowers alongside longtime crops such as potatoes, beets, cranberries and barley.
Jenna initially grew sunflowers “just for fun.”
Eventually, she continues, “I thought it would be nice if other people could come out and enjoy them. It had been a dream of mine for a long time.”
But family obligations (she married in 2016 and now has three children), the already consuming demands of the farm, and the pandemic pushed back her dream year after year — until, in 2023, “I finally did it!”
The Kelly family aims to continually introduce new attractions to the festival.
This year, in addition to the awe-inspiring sight of thousands of sunflowers, guests can take part in Paint Night (Aug. 9) and create their own artistic memento of the farm; and a night market (Aug. 16) offering local artisan products such as pottery, baked goods, jewelry and handmade soaps.
As well as providing a fun family outing, Jenna hopes the festival will help guests develop a better understanding of “how agriculture works, and how it changes and how we continue to adapt to it.”
The Kelly Family Farms Sunflower Festival runs from July 17 until an as-yet-undetermined date, Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $15 per person. The farm is located at 3946 96 St. For more information, visit kellyfamilyfarmsinc.com.
