It may have been a rainy day, but that didn’t stop smiles from sprouting during the fifth annual Mapleton Sunflower Festival held just outside of Moorefield on Saturday.
A fundraiser for Palmerston and District Hospital, the event offered a variety of activities and entertainment at the Ottens’ farm on Concession 6.
“We’re hoping to get enough money for an electric stretcher this year,” said host Leona Ottens, noting the event has raised more than $100,000 to-date. “This year our goal is about $8,000 – that’s how much the stretcher costs.
“Every year we pick a different piece of equipment.”
In addition to providing people an opportunity to check out this year’s crop of sunflowers, the festival featured timed runs, children’s activities, wagon rides, a corn maze, food, vendors and live music.
“We usually have a little over 1,000 people come through total in a day,” said Ottens.
The event began in 2020 as a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Wheels for Hope program, which sees volunteers chauffeur cancer patients to and from treatments. It was also a way to celebrate Leona’s then-husband, Matt, being five years in remission.
Matt died in 2021 while assisting a child who fell out of a boat on Conestogo Lake.
“We’ve just kept it going every year,” said Leona.
Next year’s Mapleton Sunflower Festival is scheduled for Aug. 16.
