Richmond Sunflower Festival 2019
If you know me in real life (or if you just literally take a look at the top of this page) you will know that I love sunflowers. They are my favourite flower and I have been wanting to visit a sunflower field for a very long time (Tuscany… one day I’m comin’ for ya).
This year, there are 3 sunflower fields you can visit if you are living in Vancouver – one in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Richmond. I chose to visit the one in Richmond because it was simply the closest one to me.
Event info
The Richmond Sunflower Festival is located at Richmond Country Farms. It is new so 2019 makes it their first year holding it. They are open everyday from 10 am to 7 pm until the blooming season ends (some time in September… so now or soon!).
We went on a weekend and had to pay for weekend tickets. Ticket info:
| Weekday tickets | $8.40 per person | Includes a hay ride (to and from the fields) + an entertainer on the hay ride + some food trucks |
| Weekend tickets | $15.75 per person | Includes a hay ride + entertainment, a train ride, live band, beer garden, flower stand, wine tasting and food trucks |
Weekend activities
So there seems to be a bunch of other stuff included on the weekend ticket (hence the price). After parking, we are lead through a cute little path to the entrance of the festival.
The area you are welcomed into is actually quite lovely. They have a beer garden sitting in the middle of the land, surrounded by some small ponds. The live band entertainment is to the left as well as the flower stand and some food trucks. The train track circles the entire area and goes to more of the farm land in the back.
Hay ride + entertainment
The hay ride is a one-time thing (one time to the fields and one time coming back). So if you are getting on the hay ride, know that you will not be going to the sunflower fields again after you come back.
I really enjoy the hay ride. They take us on a little tour around the farm (which is huge) and we even saw glimpses of the to-be pumpkin patch in the fall.
Our entertainment is a girl who sings songs on a guitar. She is a nice girl.
The hay ride starts to take you into some actual sunflower fields, which is beautiful! The sunflowers are tall and brush by you.
Eventually, they stop at this tunnel entrance. This is where you get off and can start walking into the sunflower fields.
Sunflower fields
So the sunflower fields are very impressive. When we first walk inside, there is a lady carrying a sunflower umbrella who tells us the rules – no running, no standing behind the lines, etc. She is very strict and will whistle shrilly at your children if they disobey. Do not disobey the umbrella lady.
She tells us that the sunflower fields are a result of lots of labour and hard work. Most of the sunflowers are hand planted in order to create a maze-like path for visitors to walk through and take pictures.
The maze opens up to a big open area where there is a garden of other flowers and props for photos. This includes some tractors and signs you can pose with, as well as this yellow truck that you have to be very careful not to scratch because it’s actually someone’s truck.
What I love the most about Richmond Country Farm’s sunflower festival is that they have a lot of different varieties. They have 20+ different types of sunflowers and dahlias on over 8 acres of land.
White sunflower! 
Big face sunflower 
Big sunflower 
Cutie sunflower
Rain or shine…
If you haven’t been able to tell from the pictures already, the weather wasn’t the greatest the day I went. It started to rain more heavily and there are not a lot of places inside the sunflower fields/maze that are under cover.
Good thing is that the ground isn’t completely made of mud (like the tulip festival… oh god), so your shoes don’t get muddy or too ruined.
Sadly, we were not able to take as many pictures as we wanted to because of the rain. If you are going on a day that may possibly rain, I suggest bringing an umbrella just in case if you want to continue to explore the fields.
Country Vines Winery
Due to the rain, we decide not to try the train ride or any of the other activities inside the festival. We exit the festival and check out the winery.
Country Vines Winery is located right beside the festival parking lot. Our weekend ticket includes free wine tasting and we taste 4 different wines before ending up buying a bottle of rose.
Related: Read about Banh Mi Tres Bon, where we got these cute character macarons.
This winery has a beautiful patio and courtyard. There are lounge sofas and chairs and mini fireplaces at the tables, keeping us cozy from the rain. They also had live entertainment the day we went.
We finish our bottle of wine as well as a bag of asian shrimp chips we found in my boyfriend’s backpack (yay!!!).
Final thoughts
Weather was probably the only thing that ruined my day. I was very excited to visit the sunflower festival and to take lots of pictures, but most of them didn’t turn out the way I wanted to. Nobody wants to take pictures while getting rained on and seeing rain drops on their forehead as they try to smile. Therefore, I was very disappointed about the weather and I think I would have enjoyed a lot more of the weekend activities if the weather had been nicer. Thus, I am skeptical about buying tickets online if you are unsure of the weather.
Aside from that, I am very satisfied with the event itself. I think the sunflower fields were amazing and beautiful and definitely very well cared-for. The beer garden, train, etc. everything was well-planned and organized. There seemed to be a system that works for everything, including the parking. I assume this is because of their annual pumpkin patch event (re-using a lot of the same facilities/site layout). They also have a bustlin’ farmer’s market in the same lot so lots of fresh produce you can bring home.
I wanted to especially write a little more about Country Vines Winery because I feel like they saved my rainy day (I guess getting day drunk just makes everything better). Just a great location to chill and their wines are reasonably priced and good.
Unfortunately, I will not return to the Richmond Sunflower Festival this year. Even though it rained the day I went and I could go again on a sunnier day, I can’t justify paying $30 (for 2 people) just to go and take pictures again. I believe their weekday price is much more in-tune with what I want to get out of the event (i.e. just pictures lol).
I will go again next year and I will also be interested in checking out their pumpkin patch event in the fall.