Highmore Celebrates Sunflowers

Blooming with art and music

Story and photos by Chad Coppess

LONG A FAVORITE SUBJECT of painters and photographers, sunflowers are now celebrated in a full-fledged gala. Highmore’s first-ever Sunflower Festival was held August 10, hosted by the Highmore Area Council of the Arts.

Tours led attendees to area sunflower fields, artists sold their work at the Festival in the Park, a children’s talent show, musical entertainment, hayrides and a triathlon were included. “People aren’t only seeing fields of beautiful sunflowers, but lots of art as well,” said organizer Beth Simonson.

Artists of all skill levels were invited to participate in a Rummage Sale Rescue. Teams purchased items at a citywide rummage sale in July and then had roughly a month to create an art piece with the items. An auction of the resulting art during the Sunflower Festival created funding for the Highmore Area Council of the Arts.

Horse-drawn hay rides through Highmore (top) gave festival-goers a look at the community. Organizer Beth Simonson helped attendees find driving routes to sunflower fields (above). Local accordionist Frankie Rinehart added toe-tapping tunes to the talent show.

In 2023 an “Art of the Harvest” photography workshop served as a testing ground for the festival. Photographers from across the region captured sunflower fields in the Highmore area, rustic barns, a crop duster and pioneer reenactors.

Whether they attended the workshop or not, photographers seem to be impressed with the abundance of sunflowers around the Highmore area. Simonson said a Colorado photographer who worked in the region in 2023 came back for this year’s festival and brought along another photographer. “He said he’d been all around the world, but this was his favorite place to photograph.”

She also heard from a painter who would like to work in the middle of a sunflower field.

Follow the Highmore Area Council of the Arts on Facebook for more information about the event.