Brand Farms Sunflower Festival Is Back for Three Weekends in Lakeville
TLDR
Three weekends only: July 31 to Aug 2, Aug 7 to 9, and Aug 14 to 16.
The farm is closed Monday through Thursday. Friday, Saturday, Sunday only.
Saturdays and Sundays now require a pre-purchased timed entry ticket for the first part of the day. You can't just pull up at noon and pay at the gate.
It's at 18810 Cedar Ave in Lakeville, not the Farmington location. People get this wrong every year.
Photographers get their own dates: Thursday, Aug 6 and Thursday, Aug 13, with a separate pass.
Farmer Aaron's sunflower field opens for the season on Friday, July 31, and this year's Brand Farms Sunflower Festival looks different than the ones you remember. The Lakeville farm cut its schedule down to three weekends, added timed entry tickets, and built a bunch of new photo props to show off. If you've done this before, read the ticket section. It's the part that trips people up.
The dates and times
The festival runs three weekends:
July 31 to Aug 2
Aug 7 to 9
Aug 14 to 16
Fridays open at 4:30 p.m. and run until sunset. Saturdays and Sundays open at 10 a.m. and run until sunset.
The farm is closed Monday through Thursday. That's new. In past years you could wander through the field on a random weekday afternoon. Not anymore.
Tickets are the big change
Here's the part to pay attention to.
On Saturdays and Sundays, entry is timed and pre-purchased for most of the day. Once the cutoff passes in the late afternoon, you can buy at the door instead, but only if there's room. Brand Farms says it watches capacity for safety reasons and can't promise you'll get in if the field is full.
On Fridays, you can walk in and buy at the gate, or pre-purchase if you'd rather lock it in.
Tickets are sold per vehicle, not per person. On the official ticket page, you pick either a car with one person or a car with two or more, and the price lands somewhere between about $11 and $22 depending on which option you choose and which day you pick. Everything is non-refundable. If the farm shuts down for weather before you arrive, your ticket rolls to another date. If it shuts down after you get there, you're out of luck.
Aaron's reasoning is pretty simple: too many people showed up at once, and it wrecked the experience for everyone. Spreading the crowd out over timed slots is his fix.
What's actually at the festival
Aaron says this year is bigger across the board. More food. More craft vendors. More music. And new photo props the farm has been building all season.
Here's the lineup:
Live music on Saturdays and Sundays
Food trucks
Craft and local vendor booths
Photo props scattered through the field
A bounce pad for the kids
Face painting
Vendors, musicians, and food change week to week. Brand Farms posts the weekly lineup to Facebook and to its own events page, so check before you go if you're coming for a specific truck or band.
If you're building a full day around it, our guide to South Metro farmers markets pairs well with a sunflower morning.
Photographers, read this
Aaron didn't forget you. He just moved you off the festival days.
Client photography is not allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. Instead, the farm is opening on two closed weekdays just for photo sessions:
Thursday, Aug 6
Thursday, Aug 13
Both run from 5 p.m. until sunset. Activities won't be open, so it's just you, your client, and the flowers.
The pass runs $40 per client (about $42 with the processing fee), and you need one pass for every client you shoot. Shooting three families that evening? That's three passes. There's no extra charge for your clients to enter. Passes are non-refundable but work on either Thursday. Grab one on the photography pass page.
Don't drive to Farmington
Saying it again because it happens every single year.
The sunflower field is at 18810 Cedar Ave, Lakeville, MN 55044. That's the main farm. Brand Farms also operates the Brand Barn over in Farmington, and if you punch "Brand Farms" into your phone, there's a real chance you end up in the wrong city with a car full of disappointed kids.
Cedar Ave. Lakeville. Write it down.
The Bottom Line
If you want a Saturday or Sunday morning in the field, buy your ticket now. Timed entry means the good slots go first, and the walk-up window doesn't open until late afternoon, with no guarantee of getting in.
Want to skip the ticket stress? Go on a Friday. Gates open at 4:30, walk-ins are welcome, and you'll catch the light right as the sun drops behind the rows.
The last day is Sunday, Aug 16. There is no fourth weekend. For more of what's happening around town this month, check our Lakeville page or browse the full South Metro event calendar.
FAQ
Do I have to buy tickets ahead of time? On Saturdays and Sundays, yes, for most of the day. Timed entry is pre-purchase only until late afternoon, then door tickets open up if there's still capacity. Fridays you can just show up.
How much does it cost? Tickets are sold by the car, not the head. Expect somewhere in the $11 to $22 range depending on whether you've got one person in the vehicle or two-plus. Check the ticket page for the exact price on your date.
Is it at the Farmington farm? No. The sunflower field is at 18810 Cedar Ave in Lakeville. The Farmington location is the Brand Barn, and there are no sunflowers there.
Can I bring my camera? Personal photos, absolutely. Professional client sessions are a different story. Those happen on Thursday, Aug 6 and Thursday, Aug 13 only, with a $40 pass per client.
What if it rains? Tickets are non-refundable. If Brand Farms cancels a day for weather safety, you can use your ticket on a later date. If the weather turns after you've already arrived, there's no refund.
