By Chelsea Blair
Sunset Berry Farm, located outside of Alderson, has announced they will be hosting their inaugural Monroe County Peach Festival on Saturday, Aug. 31. The farm currently hosts a MarketFest every Sunday, and a variety of other festivals from April to October of every year. They offer numerous activities for families and kids of all ages, including a bounce pad, bucking cow barrel train, fairy forest scavenger hunt, fun maze, and more.
Many locals may remember the Morgan Orchard and their wonderful selection of fruit to be picked by everyone, especially their delicious peaches. Owner of Sunset Berry Farm, Jennifer Gilkerson, stated that the closure of Morgan Orchard was devastating to the community; therefore, she decided to dedicate one special day to celebrating peaches. Unfortunately, Sunset Berry Farm’s peaches were lost to the below freezing temperatures this past winter but that does not deter them from hosting the festival. They see the misfortune as an opportunity to celebrate another local farm. They will be bringing in peaches from a large farm located in the northern part of the state, Orr’s Farm Market. “The event is now even more special because we get to support another farm,” said Jennifer.
Not only can visitors enjoy the peaches, but also the state’s largest outdoor bounce pad, axe throwing, mini golf, tractor pull barrel rides at 4 p.m., food, flea market, craft vendors, and a “build your own stuffie” station. There will also be a miniature cow, donkey, goat and other animals from Huckleberry Knoll Farm and Petting Zoo, and you can pick your own sunflowers and zinnias from the flower fields. All ages can enjoy a magic show by Keith Adkins at 2 p.m., followed by line dancing from 3 to 4 p.m. Sunset Berry Farm encourages you to bring a chair and stay awhile to enjoy live music by Lee Dean who does an amazing tribute to Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Frank Sinatra.
Jennifer says their farm is trying to focus more on entertainment and agri-tourism rather than just providing crops. She hopes the farm can be enjoyed by all ages, but their main target is to create a fun, outdoor space for children to enjoy. They continue to invest in play zones and strive to continuously add more entertainment for the young crowd. Jennifer says she likes to look at each festival as a small fundraiser to help add more activities and create a fun, safe park for the children.
Sunset Berry Farm encourages anyone who needs to “get their peach-fix on” to come out and enjoy a day full of adventure. To stay up to date on events and changes, follow Sunset Berry Farm on Facebook.