"‘We’re closed forever!’: How the search for the perfect selfie led to bedlam at an Ontario sunflower farm"

GlobeandMail:

“Everyone was laughing and having fun,” says Barry Bogle, Brad’s father, of that first week. “Then all of Toronto showed up.”

The apocalypse arrived on Saturday, the 28th. A few pictures of people posing among the roughly 1.4 million sunflowers had gone viral on Instagram. Cars began rolling up the driveway at 5:45 a.m. “We knew then something was up,” says Barry, who called Hamilton police for help.

By noon, the hordes were coming from all directions. People were parking as much as a kilometre away. The crowds started ignoring the overwhelmed farm staff, strolling into the fields without paying. Police told the Bogles that parents were crossing four lanes of traffic with strollers, people were getting in fender benders – one driver had his door ripped off by a passing car. One officer told the family they would be fined.