The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Sunrise Farm Fall Festival weekends prove popular
For anyone whose favorite season is fall or for those who need to get in a better frame of mind during this time of year, a visit to Sunrise Farm on weekends in October would be a good idea.
Sunrise Farm, located at 13115 Kinsman Road in Burton Township, holds its annual Fall Festival every Saturday and Sunday throughout October. The festival runs from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
This event offers guests the opportunity to enjoy seasonal foods such as hot apple fritters, caramel apples, spiced hot cider and pure apple cider, which are available from Sunrise Farm’s kitchen starting at noon.
Inside the farm store, there are a wide variety of packaged apples grown in Sunrise Farm’s orchard, or visitors can head outdoors to pick their own pumpkins.
Throughout the festival, Sunrise Farm’s glasshouse features mums, cornstalks and gourds. The store’s autumn gift shop also is stocked with items that include fall home decor, dinnerware, linens and candles.
Karen Whiting, who owns Sunrise Farm along with her husband, Dan Whiting, said the majority of visitors to the monthlong Fall Festival come from Geauga, Lake, Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties.
“I just think it is a true farm experience,” Karen said. “We’ve been doing the same thing all of these years. It’s an enduring tradition that everyone can relate to.”
Karen and Dan Whiting purchased Sunrise Farm in 1980 and since then have been operating a yearround business at the site. Sunrise Farm has made a tradition of holding special seasonal events every year, such as its Chocolate Covered Strawberry Festival Days in mid-February and its Spring Garden Party the first weekend in May.
After nearly four decades, customers who attended these events as children are now bringing their own kids to the same happenings at Sunrise Farm. One person who fits that profile is Gayle Lewin of Cleveland Heights.
Gayle and her husband, Tony Vorell, visited Sunrise Farm on the morning of Oct. 21 during the Fall Festival. Along with their sons, 2-year-old Cosmo Vorell Lewin and 3-yearold Leon Vorell Lewin, the family shopped for and purchased a pumpkin.
“We come here every year and take pictures,” Gayle said.
Gayle recalled that she started coming to Sunrise Farm as a child herself, while growing up in Lyndhurst. She said Sunrise Farm offers a lot to enjoy during the Fall Festival weekends.
“They decorate it really well,” she said. “They also have a good selection of stuff that’s fun to look at.”
Christine Meyers of Mantua said she enjoys visiting Sunrise Farm for a number of reasons.
“It’s a happy place — good vibes, a good aura and the food is wonderful,” she said, while browsing through the Sunrise Farm store on Oct. 21 with her daughter, Erika Myers.
Christine also said Sunrise Farm provides her with creative ideas on decorating for Halloween.
Another Mantua resident, Marla Zuelch, was shopping separately at Sunrise Farm on Oct. 21 around the same time as Christine and Erika Myers. Zuelch said a visit to Sunrise Farm inspires her in the same way it does Christine.
“Every fall I come here and know I’ll get some great decorating ideas,” Zuelch said.
Although Sunrise Farm’s 2018 Fall Festival weekends will conclude on Oct. 27 and 28, the business is preparing to host another popular yearly event — its Christmas Open House — on Nov. 3 and 4. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, Santa Claus will visit the farm, and guests can sample all kinds of food, as well as enjoy live music and hayrides.