A giant sunflower festival is coming to Agassiz

by Bridget Stringer-Holden on August 8th, 2023 at 12:48 PM

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Flower lovers and Instagram boyfriends, unite.

The beloved Chilliwack Sunflower Festival and Chilliwack Tulip Festival are moving to a new home near Harrison Hot Springs in Agassiz. As such, they’ve been renamed the Harrison Sunflower Festival and Harrison Tulip Festival.

Kate Onos-Gilbert and her family pioneered agritourism in the Fraser Valley and said they are excited to be back to Agassiz. That’s where they created Tulips of the Valley in 2006—the first flower festival of its kind. After 10 successful years there, they moved the festival to Chilliwack, and are now back in their original area.

“My family and I are thrilled to have acquired our own piece of land to host the new festivals and explore other agritourism opportunities, all while returning to our roots where the flower magic first bloomed,” said Onos-Gilbert in a press release. “We can’t wait to welcome flower enthusiasts to this stunning new location.”

The new Onos family farm boasts three kilometres of pathways for visitors to walk along and admire the 45 different varieties of flowers. The 20-acre farm also includes a barley field and many opportunities for photos, including swing sets, horse carts, and antique tractors. There will also be vintage bicycles, a 1950s convertible, and a 1965 Airstream trailer on display, all with picturesque views of Mount Cheam as a backdrop.

For those wanting to bring some of the magic home, they can curate their own colourful bouquets from a field with five sunflower varieties. The farm store will also be selling fresh-cut flowers, seeds, and tulip and daffodil bulbs.

The festival is slated to open August 22, depending on the bloom stages of the flowers (keep an eye on the website for updates). After running for four weeks, the farm will be turned into a pumpkin patch—just in time for Halloween. Following that, there’s the Harrison Tulip Festival to look forward to in 2024.