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    • The Barn at Helm offers flowers, concerts, weddings and more
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    The Barn at Helm offers flowers, concerts, weddings and more

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    WILLIAMSBURG, Ind. – If you visit The Barn at Helm to pick flowers, owners Julie and Tim Frame will tell you there’s a lot more there.

    A few years ago, the couple reconsidered the name of their business, initially “The Barn at Helm Flower Farm,” before realizing that what they offered was more than just flower picking.

    “We’re not just a flower farm and we should probably say ‘The Barn at Helm Experience,'” Julie said. “We found that people didn’t really want to come to a flower farm, but when they were dragged here, they had a fantastic time. … When you come, we’re really basically selling experiences.”

    The Barn at Helm, a four-acre working farm, is open Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to dusk and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Julie said there is no time limit on how long you can stay during business hours.

    “We’ve had people come to us who brought a picnic, then went to the tree behind the house and cut flowers,” she said. “And then they were here for three or four hours.”

    Concerts, weddings and more at the Barn at Helm

    Although they have been operating their property for 38 years, the Frames only opened The Barn at Helm 10 years ago and have added new amenities over time to attract new visitors and retain existing customers.

    This year they added a walking path through a field with a tree swing and a gazebo isolated from the rest of the farm to allow for a romantic date.

    The year before, the pair had set up a love lock area where couples could either bring their own or choose from a selection of locks to show how strong their bond is. The idea came to Julie and Tim when they were travelling abroad and wanted something special to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on the night of a concert at their farm.

    Previously, the Frames had built a windmill and waterfall area.

    In total, Julie estimated that there are 20 different photo opportunities for visitors.

    They also rent the farm for private events such as weddings, concerts, class reunions, anniversaries and more.

    More recently, The Barn at Helm expanded its seasonal programming to include an annual concert series that highlights well-known names in the country music industry with a mix of local artists.

    This year’s lineup includes Nashville artists Walker County and Kelsey Hart, NBA All-Star Game “National Anthem” singers The Brothers Footman, and local country and classic rock artists Sean Lamb and Janet Miller. They also recently added Wyatt Massingille, a traditional country singer from Indianapolis, to the lineup on October 5.

    Ticket prices vary by artist and can be purchased on Eventbrite or at the farm.

    Julie said the concerts had been very successful in attracting visitors, as evidenced by an AI service that indicates where people are coming from.

    “It turned out that we were attracting people from five states and 57 different zip codes,” she said. “People came to our concert nights from Fort Wayne, Cleveland, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan.”

    The concerts will also feature a variety of food trucks for attendees to purchase, as well as beer and wine on-site. Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.

    Flowers still play a big role

    Many visitors come for the flower cutting. Admission to the farm is $5 per person to walk around, but for an additional $20 per person they can purchase a Ball Mason Jar and receive scissors to cut flowers from a selection of 80 flower species, including dahlias, hydrangeas, lavender and sunflowers.

    Julie said the company acts as a florist for those who can’t make it to the farm and also does deliveries. They make bouquets for weddings, funerals and senior photos and sell them at the Centerville and Westfield farmers markets.

    “We started Centerville Market with Courtney Bowen and she said, ‘Do you want to be a co-owner?’ And I said, ‘No, I’ll help you behind the scenes.'”

    The Frames sold flowers at the Richmond Farmers Market for nine years, but decided not to do so this year because of competition from several other vendors.

    The Frames offers a subscription service where customers can receive a pick-your-own bouquet of flowers each month from April to September for $149 per year.

    On Wednesday, August 7, The Barn at Helm announced a new bouquet offering for “dahlia lovers” for the next four weeks.

    After the picking season ends in October and the concerts are over, Julie moves to offering workshops off-site, but added that they sell flowers year-round except for January.

    “A crazy idea” 11 years ago

    Overall, Julie says, they operate three business lines: They expand their operation to sell bouquets of the month and at farmers markets, they design flowers for weddings, funerals, senior photos and other events, and they operate agritourism to bring people together for concerts, pick-your-own and photo nights.

    “We’ve grown organically, so to speak,” she said. “Looking back, I would have called you crazy 11 years ago when I had this crazy idea that we would be here.”

    Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter for The Palladium-Item. You can reach him at X (@evan_weaver7) or by email at [email protected].

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    Caradoc Wyn
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