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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gainesville residents escape metropolis at Williston’s first Peach Festival

Red, White and Blues Farm implements new festivals as focus shifts to agritourism

<p>Steven Keiper stands in front of the Pumpkin Eater, a machine that gives guests a view of the peach festival at Red White and Blue Farm from 30 feet in the air, on Saturday, May 28 2022.</p>

Steven Keiper stands in front of the Pumpkin Eater, a machine that gives guests a view of the peach festival at Red White and Blue Farm from 30 feet in the air, on Saturday, May 28 2022.

With bright skies and fields of fresh fruit, Red, White and Blues Farm provided the perfect rural escape from Gainesville’s city life.

The farm’s first Peach Festival this weekend included live music, games and approximately 30 vendors. About 2,500 people attended the event.

Visitors saw one of the biggest smiles on the farm belonging to Steven Keiper, a 45-year-old Williston resident, who the regulars call Farmer Steve.

He started working on the farm cutting sunflowers in 2021 and soon fell in love with 27 acres of the 10-foot-tall plants..

“When I tell you how awesome it was — the whole thing was sunflowers,” Keiper said. “It was just yellow. You could feel it.”

Keiper moved to Williston a year ago after deciding Gainesville city life was not for him. Downtown made him uncomfortable, Keiper said, and he now calls Red, White and Blues Farm his spiritual retreat.

He said the set up for the Peach Festival looked like a dream come true.

Rachel Eloy, a 19-year-old UF neuroscience and women’s studies junior, and Radha Seemongal, a 20-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology junior, followed dirt roads deep into rural Levy County.

“This is one of my first times driving through the countryside,” Eloy said. “It wasn't that bumpy — some of the Gainesville roads by UF were definitely worse.” 

Seemongal said it was nice to be out in nature, disconnected from the internet. The family-like friendliness of the other guests was not something they recognized in Gainesville.

What started as a family-owned blueberry farm has become the growing grounds for sunflowers, strawberries and peaches. Stephanie Carten, the farm’s marketing manager, said they plan to throw a festival for each crop grown at the farm. 

An unexpected hard freeze wiped out 95% of the farm’s peaches just weeks before the festival, she said. To make up for the lost crops, at least a ton of peaches were shipped from South Carolina and a sister farm about an hour south in Umatilla, Florida, for this weekend’s festival.

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After being sold to the larger H&A Farms, the Williston location put its focus into agritourism, aiming to keep the farm open year round.

Though some are excited for the future of Red, White and Blues Farm, others have voiced concerns with commercialization. What was once a free entry venue has now been burdened with lines and a $5 fee.

General manager Heather Duran assured guests the general admission price is only implemented on festival days and entry will remain free every other weekend.

Red, White and Blues Farm is trying to keep the term “festival” exclusive to its crops, she said. The farm has many events planned for the upcoming seasons including a concert series. It also hosts events such as weddings, birthday parties and field trips.

After school let out Friday, Edward H. White High School juniors and Jacksonville residents Mia Benton, 16, and Cassidy Jordan, 17, traveled to Ocala so Jordan could see where Benton grew up. 

Benton spent a lot of her upbringing outdoors tending to her uncle’s horses and going to farms to pick blueberries and flowers. The girls came to the Williston farm Saturday hoping for a similar experience.

Benton said the Red, White and Blues Farm felt like a memory. The two best friends agreed to make the trip a new tradition. 

Contact Namari Lock at nlock@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @Namari_L.

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Namari Lock

Namari Lock is a third-year journalism student and production staff member for The Alligator. She has previously worked as multimedia editor, opinions editor, graphic designer and as a general assignment reporter for the Metro desk. In her last semester at UF, Namari is making her Alligator Sports debut as track and field reporter.


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