The Chilliwack Sunflower Festival was a wonderful Fraser Valley event put on by the same folks behind the Chilliwack Tulip Festival in the spring.
Last year the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival got both a new name and new location! It’s now called the Harrison Sunflower Festival and it takes place in Agassiz which is near Harrison Hot Springs. The Chilliwack Tulip Festival is also now the Harrison Tulip Festival.
For the new festival’s website, visit harrisonsunflowerfest.com.
In addition to the new sunflower festival, in October the same farm in Agassiz is home to the Harrison Pumpkin Festival. If you like pumpkin patches, this is a great one to check out!
NOTE: The article below is about the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival (which no longer exists, as of 2023). To learn about the new event, see our article about the Harrison Sunflower Festival.
Topics in this article include the following:
Where is it? | When is it? | Admission | Weekday Rates| Weekend Rates | Specialty Admission Rates | What to Expect | Festival Video | Shopping at the Festival | Other Info
Click any of the above links to jump to a specific topic, or continue reading for everything to know about the Harrison Sunflower Festival.
The Former Chilliwack Sunflower Festival
The former Chilliwack Sunflower Festival (now Harrison Sunflower Festival) celebrated its fifth year of operations in Chilliwack in 2022. It continued to grow over the previous few years, reaching upwards of 50 or so varieties of sunflowers and dozens of kinds of dahlias, gladiolas, zinnias and cosmos.
On top of the gardens there were non-flower displays as well including antique bikes, a horse carriage, windmill, a 1950s Morris car and more. Visitors could also play some family-friendly lawn games.
As of 2023, the festival no longer takes place in Chilliwack. It has moved to Agassiz, BC, where it now operates under a new name – the Harrison Sunflower Festival. Agassiz is the site of the former Harrison Tulip Festival which ran from 2006 to 2016 and is back as of 2024.
The Harrison Sunflower Festival ran from late August to September 17th in 2023. The festival’s season run for 2024 is to be confirmed. Tickets last year at the event in Agassiz cost $20 for adults (13+), $17 for seniors and $15 for children at the gate. Tickets cost $5 less when purchased in advance online. These prices are likely to be comparable in 2024, although this is to be confirmed.
Keep reading below for more on what the old Chilliwack Sunflower Festival was like.
Where was the Festival?
The Chilliwack Sunflower Festival took place in the fields of a farm just off the Trans-Canada Highway at 41310 Yale Road in Chilliwack, which was the same venue as the Chilliwack Tulip Festival about four months earlier in the year.
(The new Harrison Sunflower Festival happens at a farm at 5039 Lougheed Highway in Agassiz. It’s just a short drive from the resort town of Harrison Hot Springs.)
When is the Festival?
The festival in Chilliwack used to run from early August until mid-September. The 2021 edition was from July 26th until September 6th (which was Labour Day). In 2022 the first day of the season was Wednesday, August 10th. The festival continued until Monday, September 5th.
(In 2023 the Harrison Sunflower Festival ran, at its new venue, from August 22nd until September 17th.)
Days and Times for the Event
The festival in Chilliwack was usually open daily from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, with last tickets sold at 6:00 pm. Tickets were sold in timeslots so you had to try and arrive around the time that was listed on your ticket.
There were also sometimes special Sunrise Openings for those who enjoy taking photographs in the morning light.
Festival Admission
The cost of admission to the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival depended on your age, when you went and how you purchased your tickets. Adults cost more than youth and seniors, online tickets were less expensive than admission at the gate, and weekdays were cheaper than weekends.
Weekday Admission Rates
As you’ll see below, 2022 weekday rates (Monday to Friday) for the event in Chilliwack were less expensive than weekends.
- Adults (ages 13 to 64): $15
- Seniors (ages 65+): $10
- Children (ages 3 to 12): $10
- Infants (ages 0 to 2): free
Note: If you purchased your ticket online before 8:00 pm the day before, you saved 20% which made it just $12 plus taxes and fees for adults on weekdays.
Weekend Admission Rates
A more popular time to visit, admission on weekends and holidays was more expensive. Below were the rates for the Chilliwack Tulip Festival from 2022.
- Adults (ages 13 to 64): $20
- Seniors (ages 65+): $15
- Children (ages 3 to 12): $15
- Infants (ages 0 to 2): free
Note: If you purchased your ticket online before 8:00 pm the day before, you saved 20% which made it just $16 plus taxes and fees for adults on weekends.
Specialty Admission Rates in Typical Years
In addition to the above regular weekend and weekday rates, the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival also offered the following specialty rates and deals.
Sunrise Opening
Sunrise openings took place 30 minutes before sunrise on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Tickets for this in the festival’s final year cost $25 online or $30 at the gate for adults, $10 online or $15 at the gate for youth, and $15 online or $20 at the gate for seniors.
(Note: When available, sunrise opening admission tickets needed to be purchased by 10:00 pm the night before if buying online.)
Full Season’s Pass
Season passes were available, with one price for all at around $70. Season pass holders had unlimited entry at the festival.
What to Expect
At the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival you could expect to see fields upon fields of beautiful sunflowers. A couple of years ago, there were three different display gardens with close to 20 acres of flowers.
In 2019 the festival began including new varieties of flowers like dahlias. The dahlias and other non-sunflowers remained a big part of the festival in 2022. Sunflowers, however, were still the most common type of flower.
At the venue there were typically a few acres of giant Mammoth sunflowers over three metres tall. Weather permitting, on sunny days you could see them all facing in one direction in the morning and then facing the other way in the afternoon.
The Chilliwack Sunflower Festival also featured a special you-pick field where you could buy cut sunflowers as a souvenir (for about $2 or more per stem). There was usually a food truck or two at the site as well.
At the festival there were also activities for children. There was a small play structure, real tractors to climb on, and a lawn full of games (like bean bag tossing).
Sunflower Festival Video
For a really good idea of what you could expect at the festival in Chilliwack, check out the following video. It shows what the fields of sunflowers looked like in the summer. As you’ll see, there were millions of flowers, and most of them huge!
In addition to all the fields of sunflowers, there were acres of other flowers too, and family-friendly games, neither of which appear in the video.
Shopping at the Festival
At the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival, in addition to all the flowers to admire, there were also things to buy. Below is a list of some of the products for purchase and their prices from 2021.
- U-pick Field Flowers: $2 per stem
- Store Cut Sunflowers: $2 per stem
- Mixed Bouquets: prices as marked
The store also had home-grown tulip, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs for sale for fall planting. Also available were festival branded souvenirs, Chilliwack Corn, Fraser Valley Garlic, ice cream, Dutch Stroopwaffles, candy, and cold drinks.
Other Information
For further details about the event and it’s new location, see our article about the Harrison Sunflower Festival or visit the harrisonsunflowerfest.com website.
To learn more about the venue’s spring festival, click Chilliwack Tulip Festival for information about the event in the past or Harrison Tulip Festival for what’s it is today.
For more information about the area, see our articles about Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver’s August Calendar
- Vancouver’s September Calendar
- Lower Mainland Festivals & Events
- Vancouver Summer Activities
