Petal Yourself to the Port Farms Flower Festival
Waterford homestead welcomes wayfarers to stop and smell the flowers
According to flower folklore, if someone gives you a dwarf sunflower, they probably adore you. If they give you zinnias (brightly colored, daisy-like sunflower cousins), they probably miss you. And if they give you a tall sunflower, they're probably really proud of themselves — so if you thank them, you're just playing into their ego.
Of course, you could avoid awkward conversations about stem size and intentions and invite your special someone to the Port Farms Flower Festival instead. There, among five acres of sunflowers and zinnias, you can pose and pick together as humbly or haughtily as you please. You'll be able to play the field Thursdays through Sundays all the way up until Sept. 12, with general admission buying you a cornucopia of photo ops and access to a plethora of family-friendly activities. Optional upgrade packages will allow you to snip flowers by the bloom or by the bouquet, with a mason jar or bucket provided for display and transport.
And if there's a wilt, there's a way around it — in the form of an on-site watering station for the plants and an on-site watering hole for the humans. Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, the Port Farms beer garden will be dispensing Lavery brews and tunes from 1 to 5 p.m. The live music schedule continues well into the fall, but the lineup for the remainder of the Flower Festival is as follows:
- 8/21: TBA
- 8/22: Tony Kellogg
- 8/28: Tommy Link
- 8/29: Katie and Jesse
- 9/4: Danny and the Daddios
- 9/5: Ron Yarman
- 9/11: Samantha Sears Music
- 9/12: Jesse James Weston
Should all that not evoke a reaction, you can literally give yourself or someone else butterflies during the concurrent Blooms, Bubbles, and Butterflies event this weekend, Aug. 21 and 22. Painted lady butterflies will be available at $7.95 per insect and can be released either at the farm (group flights scheduled at 2 p.m. each day) or at the buyer's discretion.
With a top speed of 30 miles per hour, painted ladies can cover up to 100 miles in a single day. Whether or not you miss the butterflies, Port Farms hopes to be zinnia there.
Ongoing through Sept. 12, Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. // Port Farms, 2055 Stone Quarry Road, Waterford, PA 16441 // General admission $12.95 (Thursdays and Fridays) or $14.95 (Saturdays and Sundays) // portfarms.com
