The amazing power of hope has attracted visitors by the thousands to the Prayers from Maria sunflower field at the corner of Jaycox and Chester Roads in Avon.
Ed and Megan McNamara have been greeting guests all week. “I just don’t know how many we’ve had – a lot!” said Megan last Saturday morning as cars already jammed the parking area.
This year’s blooms were timed to open the weekend of Sept. 16 to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The Prayers from Maria Foundation first planted the Sunflower field in 2014 to gracefully draw attention to the lack of funding for childhood cancer. The field was inspired by the memory and spirit of Ed and Megan’s daughter, Maria McNamara, planted as a way to love and honor the courageous children who are battling cancer and those we have lost.
The week has been jammed with activities, from Marco’s Pizza Day & Race Sign Up on Saturday, 9/23, the Blooming Celebration of Life on Saturday complete with Fireworks and Senior Citizen Day on Sunday with music and even a barbershop quartet.
Special thanks to The Jacobs Group, Lowes, and Farmer John Betzel of County Line Farms for making this field possible.
In August 2016 the City of Avon declared the Sunflower to be the Official Flower of the City of Avon in honor of Maria McNamara and the Sunflower Field she inspired.