All About Blake's Sunflower Festival

Sunflowers are some of the biggest, most dramatic flowers in Michigan, and every summer, Blake’s Orchard hosts a two-week-long festival called Blaket’s Sunflower Festival. There are so many things to eat, see, and do, like U-pick sunflowers, shopping more than 150 artisan booths, a cider tasting room, plenty of food trucks and on-site restaurants to enjoy, free massages, free yoga classes, and so much more.

Blake’s Sunflower Festival

Location: Armada, Michigan
Address: 195 Midway St.
Imlay City, Michigan 48444
Date: August 9-11th & 16-18th, 2024
Rain or Shine
Cost: $14 Admission
Parking: Free Parking
Events: 150+ Artisan Market, Sunflower-themed Food & Drinks, U-Pick Sunflowers,
Live Music, Free Yoga classes, seminars & workshops,
& much more

Sunflowers at DeBucks Sunflower U-Pick Farm in Belleville, Michigan Photographed by Annie Fairfax

At Blake’s Sunflower Festival, I surprised my best friend, who owns Desert Dreams. You may remember that I photographed her Walt Disney World engagement a few years ago! She had no idea we were coming, but she’d discussed needing more photos of her booth setup, so of course, I had to visit her first thing when we came back from our anniversary summer in Europe! Seeing her in action was so much fun, constantly selling her beautiful handmade clay & UV resin jewelry. She’s SO talented.

There were more than 150 other vendors and artisans at Blake’s Sunflower Festival, and there were so many free and fun things to do. There were several free yoga classes throughout the day. Free chair massages from Lakewood School of Therapeutic Massage students were very popular. There were dozens of workshops, seminars, and DIY classes, from learning about a plant-based lifestyle, making charcuterie boards, and creating a succulent garden to plenty of things to do with kids.

Additionally, there was live music all weekend and lots of shopping for foods grown on the property, like apples, preserves, honey, and so much more.

With just the activities available to guests, the $14 entrance fee was well worth it!

After photographing my friend’s setup, the weather grew rather dodgy. The wind picked up, the sky darkened, and it felt cooler, but that didn’t deter us from heading back to the sunflower field for an impromptu photoshoot. On our way back, it rained, then stopped just as we arrived. My hair was ruined, but our spirits certainly weren’t, so we persevered. While I shouldn’t have skipped the hairspray, I still had a ton of fun, and the photos turned out great, particularly of Jamie!

PS. There were lots of honeybees and bumblebees, so if you’re allergic, steer clear or bring a few epi-pens. It’s also important to note that there are bathrooms in each building if you’re like me and absolutely refuse to use “port-o-potties.” Ugh. Even writing that word makes me feel sick, haha.

There were many food options, from gluten-free, vegetarian-loaded nachos, fries, mac ‘n cheese, and smoothies to artisan grilled cheese, burgers, and more. The above drink was the “deluxe” apple cider slush, and while I’m pretty sure it gave me diabetes (it had frosting, sprinkles, ice cream, and slushed cider), it was delicious. Thankfully, I had people to share it with because it was huge and came with a donut I couldn’t eat (it wasn’t GF).

We planned only to stay an hour or two but ended up spending the entire day. Towards the end, we were absolutely soaked when a thunderstorm picked up for about half an hour, drenching us on our way back to the main festival from the flower fields. Even so, we had so much fun. The vendors stuck around, as did all the entertainment, though the other festival-goers cleared out.

Blake’s Sunflower Festival was really well run so much fun, and a great place to explore Michigan-made crafts and food. They have so many other festivals, like Cider Daze, farm tours, Halloween-themed events, and so much more, that I have a feeling I’ll end up here again someday soon. For now, if you find yourself near Armada, MI, stop in and grab some fresh apples, snap a picture in their overflowing fields, and you, too just might have one of the best Saturdays you’ve had in a long time.