Welcome To Our Farm
Sunset Berry Farm offers agritourism by way of festivals and "pick your own" strawberries, sunflowers and peaches. The farm is well known for growing premium West Virginia fruits and vegetables, and added freeze dried produce in 2024. Located atop beautiful Flat Mountain just outside Alderson, West Virginia, the farm was established in 2010 by Kent and Jennifer Gilkerson as a means to generate income to make an extra house payment or two each year. The farm grows 50,000 strawberry plants with an expected yield of 50,000 pounds per season. To expand fruit offerings, the farm has added 100 peach trees, 15 pear trees and 4 apple trees. The farm also grows tomatoes in three high tunnels and Farmer Kent plans to add a large green bean field in 2025 and invest in a green bean harvester. In 2021 the farm began growing 2 acres of sunflowers in a successful attempt to rebound from strawberry crop failure due to a catastrophic freeze event. That sunflower project has blossomed into the West Virginia Sunflower Festival, which the farm is thrilled to host each year in September. The farm also hosts Alderson Strawberry Festival each Saturday before Memorial Day, Monroe County Peach Festival the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, followed by West Virginia Watermelon Festival the Saturday following Labor Day weekend and Alderson Halloween Festival the Saturday prior ro Halloween.
Farmer Kent started working on the family strawberry farm at age nine and is a third generation strawberry grower with roots in Fayette County, West Virginia. Farmer Kent is a part time farmer until 2025 when he is set to retire from his "real" job at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp for women, where he serves as the union president for Local 1494. Jennifer has little farming skills but, to the benefit of the farm, enjoys sales, marketing and program development.
Sunset Berry Farm is an agritourism destination, inviting families to enjoy special events at the farm throughout the warm season. Alderson Strawberry Festival is always the Saturday prior to Memorial Day and spans from the memorial bridge in Alderson to the farm. Monroe County Peach Festival is the Saturday prior to Labor Day, West Virginia Watermelon Festival is the following Saturday, and West Virginia Sunflower Festival the Saturday after that, featuring professional and amateur sunflower photography opportunities, a butterfly release, build your own boquet workshop led by our friends at Leggacy Farm, live performances by Lee Dean, food and WV craft vendors. The Alderson Halloween Festival marks the last festival of the season and a chance for guests ages 12 and under to enjoy FREE trick or treating, costume contest, shop from craft vendors and food trucks to fill their belly with famously delicious smoked pork & chicken, homemade potato salad and much more. All events at the farm offer a family fun zone, featuring the largest outdoor bounce pad in the state, tractor pulled cow rides, basketball hoop shooting, ax throwing and more.