When life deals you drought, grow Sunflowers and they will come. This is what a lucerne farming family in Kalbar about an hour from Brisbane in the Scenic Rim have done, and the result is a one-day celebration of sunflowers, sunshine and happiness for everyone on March 27! The inaugural Sunshine & Sunflower Day will feature sunrise yoga in the sunflowers, wanders through the sunflower fields, children’s sunflower art classes, sunflower cooking classes and in the evening, a Sunset Dinner in the sunflowers curated by Scenic Rim Ambassador Chef, the famed culinary master, Richard Ousby.

Scenic Rim gal Grace Bottle readying for the Sunflower Celebration on March 27

Sunshine & Sunflower Day 2021 was born of drought. Russell and Jenny Jenner who farm lucerne just out of Kalbar had been struggling due to the ongoing Queensland drought (yes, even though it’s raining now, the drought continues!). Dam levels were dropping and water drying up. So, instead of planting hay this season, they looked to another crop, one that doesn’t require as much water – sunflowers! They immediately registered as flower growers, redesigned their paddocks and planted 200,000 sunflowers. Not only are the sunflowers now productive, they are the most perfect canvas for the first ever Sunshine & Sunflower Day!
Jenny explained that the event has a wonderful community event and includes local businesses, Kalbar State School, The Lions Kalbar and Kalbar Progress Association. The Jenner Family, along with local events manager Emily Lochran, feel this will be a big hit for people far and wide. They can’t wait to open their farm gates.
“The good news is that from this drought-induced pivot to sunflowers, has come a celebration that has happiness at its heart – because sunflowers really are Mother Nature’s symbol for happiness!” said Jenny. “We have a full day planned, from sunrise to sundown and beyond, with key events segmented by time and all tickets, so it’s COVID-safe, and it allows for early birds, families, foodies and couples to choose their sunflower adventure, and come to Kalbar and enjoy! While we haven’t been able to make hay while the sun shines, we have been able to grow sunflowers – it’s going to be the most glorious and photographed day for this amazing little town and we can’t wait to welcome everyone!”

For More Information and Tickets

9 Cool Things You Might Not Know About Sunflowers
Thanks to goodhousekeeping.com

• 1. Each sunflower is actually thousands of teeny flowers.
  The iconic yellow petals and fuzzy brown centres are actually individual flowers themselves. As many as 2,000 can make up the classic sunflower bloom.
• 2. You should harvest sunflowers in the morning, not the afternoon.
  Planning to clip a few to display in a vase? If you wait until the afternoon, they may wilt.
• 3. Sunflowers are native to the Americas and were domesticated around 1000 B.C.
  Even way back when, people saw the value in growing sunflowers, which are still harvested for sunflower seeds (and the oil you can make from them) today. In 2014, 1.7 million acres were planted in the United States, the USDA reports. The majority of those were found in North Dakota. Queensland and NSW are Australia’s major sunflower growing states.
• 4. A dried sunflower makes a unique, natural bird feeder.
  Feathered friends love to snack on sunflower seeds just like we do. Hang a sunflower head face up un a tree or on your deck as the perfect bird feeder!
• 5. Each sunflower can contain as many as 1,000 to 2,000 seeds.
  So there’s heaps for birdies to munch on! But you can harvest and roast them for yourself, too.
• 6. There are about 70 species of sunflowers.
  Their genus name is Helianthus (which comes from the Greek words for “sun” and “flower”). While many varieties look bright and cheery, their shapes can be quite different.
• 7. The French word for sunflower is “tournesol,” which means “turns with the sun.”
  In their bud phase, sunflowers will literally seek out and face the sun. This trait is called heliotropism.
• 8. The tallest sunflower on record was over 30 feet tall.
  Coming in at 30-feet, 1-inch, the bloom was grown in Germany by Hans-Peter Schiffer, who has held the record twice before.
• 9. Sunflowers have been planted to help soak up nuclear radiation.
  They’re not just pretty faces; sunflowers are actually good at absorbing toxins, too. Millions were planted after the devastating tsunami destroyed reactors in the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.