Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds links growers and gardens through more than 1,300 varieties of rare seeds it sells. The Ozarks-based company with global impact also connects people through its annual festivals, a tradition that in 2026 returns through three gatherings at its headquarters — a farm near Mansfield, Missouri.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds will host three festivals in 2026 — featuring food, fun and community — at its farm near Mansfield. (Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.)
“The festivals are really just about wanting to grow community around heirloom gardening, and to offer people a place to learn and connect and enjoy what is a really marvelous, beautiful, unusual, magical space,” says Michelle Johnson, who leads Baker Creek’s communications efforts. “The farm is like no place else.”
While the farm’s flowers suffered during the March 2026 cold snap, Baker Creek’s festivals are considered to be highly visual affairs. Lots of produce – think of a museum-like experience – and flowers are typically on display. Visitors are also treated to speakers, music, food and vendors.
The farm’s collection of buildings – ranging from a cafe to seed stores and more – also comes alive during the festivals, offering attendees a variety of educational and fun festivities. (Some stops are open five days a week at other times of year, too.)
Here’s the 2026 lineup:
April 12 & 13: The Flower Festival
Wander through Baker Creek’s gardens, enjoy the spring season, and learn more from a slate of speakers sharing topics ranging from “Plants and Systems Built for Resilience” to “Native Bumble Bee Conservation.”
May 3 & 4: Spring Planting Festival
Join “hippies, homesteaders, and heirloom lovers,” as Baker Creek’s website puts it, as you learn all about farm and homestead life.
Sept. 27 & 28: The National Heirloom Expo 2026
Enjoy a showcase of more than 1,000 rare flowers, veggies, fruits, and herbs — and a seed swap.
How Baker Creek’s festivals began
(Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.)
Baker Creek’s farm, located about six miles north of Mansfield, is where the locally grown company had its start in 1998. Back then, founder Jere Gettle was a teenager selling seeds out of his home.
“It was in my bedroom upstairs (and) the seeds were in totes. I had manila coin envelopes,” Gettle told Ozarks Alive in 2023, “and you put some seeds in and wrote the name on by hand.”
Homemade catalogues allowed that homegrown effort to blossom. That start quickly grew into a realization: In addition to seeds, there was value in bringing like-minded people together.
“The thing about Jere is that he wanted to collect these heirloom seeds and share them,” Johnson says. “But he also really wanted to meet people and make relationships with them. Jere is as much a collector of people as he is a collector of seeds.”
Those realities led to regular gatherings at the farm.
"It was a little bit like a farmers market kind of thing,” Johnson says, noting the first gathering drew hundreds of people. “And they just evolved over time, and got a little bit more organized. Word got out; it was bigger.
“So clearly, people were really interested in being together. They were interested in what was going on. And so the festivals did grow in scope and scale.”
Baker Creek’s approach today
Baker Creek’s festivals feature speakers as well as entertainment. (Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.)
Those frequent gatherings — and others in California and on the East Coast, where Baker Creek has also made footprints— have given way to the three core festivals. They give attendees the chance to learn, as well as connect with other growers.
“Honestly, the most fun thing to build at the festivals here has been the exhibition,” Johnson says of large tents, shading colorful produce and flowers, that have become one of the popular draws. “We've gotten a lot more attentive about planning and planting specific varieties and crops and certain kinds of plants so that they are timed to be ready for harvest and display.
Scenes from a few of Baker Creek’s recent festivals. (Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.)
“It's one thing to walk around the farm and see 500 or 1,000 different kinds of plants across many greenhouses (over) 10 acres. But it’s another to walk into a space where it’s been curated. It just blows your mind.”
The festivals are key public events, but Baker Creek’s farm is open throughout the year for shopping and visiting. In addition to its seed store (and food options, which will be available Monday through Friday at the farm from April to October), visitors can now get a tour of the farm when they stop by.
(Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.)
“Our focus has really sort of shifted a bit from the farm as a sort of shopping space to it being sort of an experience – like, it’s just come and enjoy this oasis,” Johnson says.
“You don’t have to call ahead or make an appointment — if you come during business hours and you want a tour, you can go to the seed store and someone will call a gardener and they will roll up in an electric golf cart and give you a tour and answer your questions. It does really turn into more of a personalized gardener’s experience. It really helps people get more connected more deeply.”
Want to learn more?
Connect with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds online.
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