Down a winding country road in Brookhaven, nestled among trees dappled orange-red-brown, Mayfield Farm has been hard at work preparing for its second Fall Fest. This Sunday, join the organic homestead in celebrating the dawn of another uniquely wild and wonderful fall in West Virginia.
Pumpkins of orange, green, white and black; blooms of dahlia and celosia; the romantic tastes of hand-crafted honey, mead and fresh bread; crooning vocals carried by the cool breeze — perhaps the only thing that could culminate a grander spectacle of fall is attendance by the Great Pumpkin himself.
Legendary gourd guests or lack thereof aside, Mayfield Farm’s Fall Fest strives to create a place of seasonal entertainment, education and outdoor recreation for the community.
The 21 acres of soil on which rolling flower fields and buzzing honey bee hives now rest are rife with regional history. Mayfield Farm’s property originated in the Mayfield family as a hallmark of fresh food in the Morgantown area.
Upon relocating to West Virginia in 2018 with a vision of sustainable land stewardship, Kelly Ross and Zane Montgomery found just the place for pursuing their dream in the historic homestead now known as Mayfield Farm.
More than just a flower farm, Ross emphasizes Mayfield Farm’s commitment to environmentally conscious practices such as organic, herbicide- and pesticide-free strategies, electric machinery and more.
When she’s not tending to hundreds of flower varieties on the farm, Ross is an oncologist and assistant professor at the WVU Cancer Institute. As she strives to make a difference in her community through medical care, Mayfield Farm is an avenue for supporting Morgantown in other ways.
“The main ethos of our farm and our mission, which is obviously to grow beautiful flowers for the people here in Morgantown, is to do it sustainably and always with an eye for the environmental impact of everything that we’re doing,” said Ross. “At the heart of everything we do is caring for the planet and trying to leave everything a better place than how we found it.”
Through Mayfield Farm’s environmentally engaged practices and community presence, the couple is keen to not only maintain the land’s legacy but also highlight their own family values and passions.
Enter, Fall Fest.
Mayfield Farm’s inaugural Fall Fest, held last year, sprouted from a desire to share the homestead’s beauty and tranquility with the community it serves. Through a variety of fall-themed amenities, that is exactly what Fall Fest 2023 accomplished, and what Fall Fest 2024 aims to continue.
During Sunday’s festival, self-guided exploration of the homestead’s flower fields and apiary will showcase the farm’s handiwork and goods, with Ross and Montgomery on hand to answer questions.
Visitors can then purchase the farm’s hand-raised-and-crafted products. Baked goods, pumpkins, honey, mead sampling, seeds, fresh flowers and bouquets, crowns and wreaths of dried flowers are just a few ways to bring home your own piece of Mayfield Farm.
Additional food vendors include Hinerman Hill Farms and Best Ever Baklava food truck.
Beyond physical mementos, Ross encourages attendees to take advantage of the festival’s picture-perfect views to capture that quintessential fall Instagram post and plenty of memories. The Mustard Couch will stage photo ops for that very purpose, in addition to dried-flower installations created by Ross.
All the while, local musicians Emmy Rae and Grace Campbell will complement the event’s warm atmosphere with pop and folk tunes.
For visitors of the pint-sized variety, Ross and Montgomery’s 6-year-old son is the proud coordinator of this year’s children’s scavenger hunt.
After just a few growing seasons here in Morgantown, Mayfield Farm is proud to establish itself as a local beacon of natural beauty and community engagement by hosting events like Fall Fest.
“We want to have this place in Morgantown that is interesting and unique and beautiful and offers something really cool and different for Morgantown,” said Ross. “I hope everybody has a really nice experience with their family, taking pictures, sampling mead and honey, just getting some flowers and seeing what our operation is about.”
Beyond Fall Fest, the homestead’s goods can often be found at local art and farmers markets. Mayfield Farm also offers flower subscriptions, wreath-making workshops and wedding services.
Tickets to Fall Fest are $50 per vehicle and available in two-hour time slots between 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m. on Sunday, with just 30 tickets left as of Tuesday. Visit MayfieldFarmWV.com for more information on tickets, Fall Fest and Mayfield Farm.
