By Jennifer Whittaker

Just get on I-20 and head to Rutledge, Georgia, for the 5th Annual Sunflower Festival, July 1 & 2. The Sunflower Festival is a labor of love coordinated by members of the West and Holt families on their Morgan County farm.

Bobby West, who has farmed all his life, first decided to grow sunflowers six years ago, mainly for hunting dove. The family received so many requests for cutting the sunflowers that they posted a mailbox holding instructions for cutting the flowers. West, who each year leads a neighborhood July Fourth antique tractor parade, decided in 2002 to route the parade past the sunflower fields and thus the festival was born. Last year about 5,000 attended the event.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on July 1 and from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on July 2. On Saturday only, West will lead the annual antique tractor parade beginning at 10 a.m. In addition to 12 acres of sunflowers, visitors will enjoy live music, hayrides through the flower field and special activities for kids. An arts and crafts market features heritage crafts, heirloom plants, fresh farm produce and homemade jams, jellies, and pickles. Barbecue, hamburgers, hotdogs and homemade ice cream are just some of the delicious food available from vendors.

West’s nephew, Wes Holt, restored the farm’s old sharecropper house that dates back to 1910. Wes and his mother, Rena, who grew up on the farm with her brother Bobby, worked together to plant a heritage garden around the house. Festival visitors can tour the house and its heritage garden to see what farm life was like years ago.

“The driving force behind the festival is that we enjoy doing it,” explains Rena’s husband, George. “My wife loves plants and heritage gardens, and my son, Wes, is a horticulturist.”

A $5 per car fee covers parking and admission. Charities that benefit from the festival include the local Rotary Club, Habitat for Humanity and Project Linus. Visitors can cut their own bouquet for $7, which includes a vase.

Directions: Travel I-20 to Exit 105. Turn South (not toward Rutledge) on Newborn Road. Travel for 3 miles to Keencheefoonee Road on left. Turn left onto Keencheefoonee Road and travel 2 miles to Durden Road on right. Turn right onto Durden Road and drive 3/4 of a mile.

For more information visit www.sunflowerfarmfestival.com or call (706) 557-2870.