Fields of gold — Louisiana festival honors the bright summer flower

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sunflower Festival and Trail.

There’s a stretch of northwest Louisiana where sunflowers grow tall and wide. To celebrate this bright enormous flower, the 25th Annual Sunflower Festival and Trail will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Gilliam. The festival will feature an exhibit of vintage tractors, a Harvest mural by Diane Long, sunflower T-shirts for sale at the Village Hall, artwork and crafts for sale by local artists, arts and crafts activities for children, several bands performing and a photography contest.

Food vendors include Main Street Restaurant, James Country Store, and the D&I General Store in Belcher.

Drive the Sunflower Trail

From downtown Shreveport, head north on Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway. Just north of the casinos, Clyde Fant veers to the left and changes to Grimmett Drive. From Grimmett Drive, turn right onto La. Hwy. 3049, otherwise known as Dixie Shreveport Road. Turn right at Old Dixie Gin and Sentell Road and drive the loop around the levee. Sentell Road circles back to Highway 3049 at Cornerstone Baptist Church, just north of Dixie.

This drive features several sunflower varieties and a field of wildflowers. Sunflowers along the Trail are expected to be in full bloom this month and next.

Stops along the trail include:

Dixiemaze Farms at 9596 Sentell Road in Dixie.

Ryan Farms Produce in Dixie

Big Mama’s Antiques and Restorations in Hosston

Designs by Carol Quilt Shop in Ida

Farmers’ Market in Gilliam

Red River Crossroads Museum in the Gilliam Library

Lynn Plantation Commissary, 11580 Hwy. 3049 in Belcher

The Veterans Memorial in Belcher

Old Church House in Hosston

Dixie Lavender Farm in Shreveport

For more information about the historic stops along the Sunflower Trail, pick up a Sunflower Trail and Festival brochure from the Downtown Shreveport Visitor Center at 629 Spring St. in Shreveport, or the Red River Crossroads Museum.

Photo Contest

Photographers and artists of all ages and skills are invited to submit their work to the Sunflower Photo/Art Contest that closes on Aug. 2, 2024. The prize is $200 with the artwork featured on the 2025 Sunflower Festival T-Shirt! Artwork must be original and each artist may submit one design. Click here for rules and entry form.

For more information on the 25th Annual Sunflower Festival and Trail, check out the Sunflower Trail and Festival on Facebook. For more information on the Red River Crossroads Historical Association, visit www.RedRiverCrossroadsHistorical.org.

To find other events happening in Shreveport-Bossier, visit www.SBFunGuide.com. For a full list of things to do in rural Caddo and Bossier Parishes, visit www.BoomOrBustByway.com or download the app for a GPS-navigated adventure.

Note: The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau provided information and photos for this post.