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KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER | DAILY NEWS SUNFLOWER FESTIVAL: Bright yellow sunflowers will be in the spotlight later this summer during the inaugural N.C. Sunflower Festival in Chocowinity.

FARM FRIENDS: Visitors to Raised In A Barn Farm may encounter a variety of animals cared for by local 4-H Club members. Here, Josh Carver (left) and Brice Sosebee show off a pair of rabbits.

HEADQUARTERS: Raised In A Barn Farm in Chocowinity is headquarters for the new N.C. Sunflower Festival.

MAKING PLANS: Among those at the helm of the festival planning committee are (from left) Jane Boahn, Mandie Boahn and Jessie Burroughs.

SPREAD THE WORD: Event organizers are hoping Chocowinity residents and business owners will join in the festivities by planting their own sunflowers throughout the town.

CHOCOWINITY — North Carolina is host to a selection of festivals, each celebrating the state’s flora and fauna, agricultural interests and culture.

Here in the Tar Heel State one will find events paying homage to fossils, pickles, blueberries, barbecue, apples, watermelons, azaleas, strawberries, poultry, collards, cotton, pumpkins, black bears and seafood.

But the folks at Raised In A Barn Farm in Chocowinity have decided to fill a void in the state’s festival calendar later this summer when they host the inaugural N.C. Sunflower Festival.

“We want to make Chocowinity the sunflower capital of the whole state,” said Jane Boahn, whose family operates the farm. “There’s not another sunflower festival anywhere in North Carolina.”

The event is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4. The planning process is in full swing with input from town and county commissioners, fire and rescue personnel, local schoolteachers, business owners and community volunteers, according to Boahn.

Activities being considered include a parade, a scholarship pageant for contestants from infants to high school students, art and photography contests for children and adults, musical entertainment, a cooking competition and a church service on Sunday morning the weekend of the festival. Vendors are being recruited for the event, which will also serve as the grand opening of this fall’s corn maze on the farm.

“Some things are still very much in the planning stages,” said Mandie Boahn. “But we are already encouraging everyone in Chocowinity to plant sunflowers this summer at their residences, businesses and farms throughout town.”

Assisting the Boahn family and the festival committee with the event is Jessie Burroughs, a student at N.C. State University and a Raised In A Barn Farm intern this summer. Burrough’s interest in agritourism is proving invaluable to the festival committee, according to the Boahns.

The farm also received another boost recently when the Boahns were awarded an agritourism grant available through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“There were 77 applicants and we were one of 29 selected from across the state,” said Jane Boahn. “This grant is the first we’ve won and it will enable us to share more things with the community.”

For more information about the N.C. Sunflower Festival in Chocowinity, visit the event’s Facebook page or email ncsunflowerfestival@gmail.com.

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