Raised in a Barn Farm - The Sunflower Festival, NC

I was in eagerly waiting to attend the first Sunflower Festival in Chocowinity, organized by Raised in a Barn Farm team and wanted to go for it on Saturday, September 3rd. However, the Hurricane Hermine which hit NC on late Friday and Saturday underpinned my hopes. I was delighted though that the event was scheduled for Monday, September 5th the Labor Day and my husband and I were determined to attend the festival. 

As I entered the Raised in a Barn Farm, I noticed a field full of sunflowers that had drooped and fallen to the ground due to the storm, but the spirits of the team and the owners were still soaring high. They braved the storm, and continued the festival with the sunflowers patches that were gaily dancing in the wind, looking cheerful and bright. 

A gentle horse greeted me as I entered the grounds daughter squealed in delight as the horse nuzzled against her arms. The hens and chickens on the right were clucking and welcoming us too. I started by taking a tour of the patches of sunflowers, capturing with glory, the honey bees and butterflies pollinating the flowers. 


I headed next inside the grounds where there were few arts and crafts stalls, a music platform and some fun activities for children. The owner mentioned that many of the vendors had backed out due to the storm, but it was great to see the support of the existing vendors who displayed their wooden crafts, decorative pillows, hand-made soaps, jewelry and bracelets etc. 

The music arena attracted a lot of people and I saw people eating their food, sipping their drinks and enjoying the band. There were few children dancing to the tune of the music too. 


The children (and big ones alike :) were having lots of fun at the play area. The booth owners gave multiple chances to children to take a go at the lucky duck, hitting the frog, throwing a ball at the basket, climbing a bouncy house etc. The kids enjoyed the prizes - little stars, cuddly toys, rubber ducks, stamps, pencils and notepad, coloring pads etc. Some kids also had fun at the face painting counter and enjoyed the free treats that a volunteer was handing around. 

I almost missed this - but I really enjoyed picking the fresh bright sunflowers right from the field at $1 per piece. Nothing was more exciting than going around the field, picking your own flowers, making your own bouquet and visualizing it on your very own vase back at home :) 

And yes, my husband and I were excited about the hot air balloon tethered ride, but that was scheduled a little late in the evening due to the wind forecast, and we had to drive around 2 hours back home, so we missed it. We will come back for it next year :)

Overall, a great event despite the downside of the storm. I wish they come back with a bigger bang next year. I look forward to attend the festival. 

Adieu...

Lazy Daze Festival is one of those unique arts and crafts festival prized highly in the State of NC. This is the fortieth year of the festival and was conducted for two days at the Cary Towne Hall. As I entered the campus, I saw a series of promotional offers and the one that caught my attention was the offer for "our state" magazine. As a travel freak, I love reading this magazine which provides a great view of the unique experiences to be found in cities and towns of NC, the offbeat places to visit, the popular and tasty foods special to each place and so on. Grasping the precious free copy of the September issue in my hands and struggling with water bottles and a backpack on the other, I skipped on to view the other activities that the festival presented before me. 

I saw so many different arts and crafts artisans who were selling pottery, jewelry, paintings, wooden crafts, garden accessories, handbags etc. and the uniqueness of this was all of these are hand-made in some form or the other, which is why the vendors are heavily juried and selected. It was more of an art for the eyes than the purse, as many items were expensive as they were hand-made. I could see people of all ages coming together and having fun experiencing the arts and crafts, grabbing food and drinks and watching the children play and enjoy. 

There were a lot of bands and entertainments and the kids play area had a special stage with its own band of players, storytelling, magical shows and games. There was a small pool near the kids zone where kids could dip their legs or splash in the water. Not to miss out on the home-made ice-creams, face painting and craft zones. 

Overall, a good festival to meet the artisans, learn about the art, and have a fun day-out with the family. 



Hope you enjoyed the festival. Bye Friends