ALDERSON, WV (WOAY) – Sunset Berry Farm is kicking off their annual Berry Festival this weekend. The festival is a way for the farm to show people the three acres of strawberries grown at the top of Flat Mountain.
As an added bonus this year the farm is working with several other locations in Alderson to hold the History of Our Town festival to teach about the towns unique law about keeping lions on a leash.
“Long long ago, there was a circus that come through town on the train and one of their lions had pups,” said Sunset Berry Farm Owner Jennifer Gilkerson. “So they left one of them behind and one of the residents in Alderson actually took the lion in and it was their pet. The town actually ended up having to adopt a leash law and it is law in Alderson that you have to have your lion on a leash.”
For the two festivals the farm will have tons of activities to do such as paintball, a bounce pad, live music, and of course strawberry picking and treats in addition to so much more.
“There’s another farm participating and they are going to be doing hayrides and a tractor show,” Gilkerson said. “They have a castle like, beautiful, structure that they are going to be telling people about the history of that. Then Alderson Big Wheel will have strawberry milk shakes made from our strawberries. River Ridge Campground, which is a wonderful new campground here in Alderson, they’ve joined us. They are doing remote control boat racing for ages twelve and up.”
The farm is also providing passports so you can travel to different areas to collect stamps and then be entered for a chance to win a basket of prizes.
The Berry Festival will run from now until at least June 3, with events starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. Sunset Berry Farm is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.