Foster Family Farm Corn Maze Set to Open Saturday

Here’s a corny story.

(OK, I apologize for that one. Please stay with me.)

The Foster Family Farm is hosting the 11th season of its corn mazes, both of which are circus-themed this year. They are set to open this Saturday.

The larger Clown maze - cut from a corn field in the shape of a clown face - has 2.1 miles of trails, while the Lion maze - shaped, yes, like a lion - is slightly smaller coming in at 1.8 miles of trails, according to Foster Family Farm employee Katie Bis.

While the mazes can take up to two hours to finish both of them, Bis said that people rarely get lost for extended periods of time.

“People tend to get a little turned around,” she said. “But we do have employees range around the mazes looking for people who lost. It’s pretty easy to do because all the corn looks the same.”

And after 11 years, the corn maze has become quite a popular regional attraction, Bis said.

“We have quite a few people come on weekends after all fairs we do,” she said. “We’re packed with birthdays and field trips during the week. We have people come out every year with more advertising and web usage.”

For the eighth straight year, Sheryl Haraghey of Frame and Sign Design of South Windsor is helping out with decorating the corn maze. She is currently putting the finishing touches on the corn maze’s circus-themed entrance, a process that is going a bit more smoothly than in year’s past when there were dinosaur and revolutionary war themes.

“I enjoy it and every year it changes and it’s something new and exciting,” Haraghey said.

Bis said that the corn maze itself is set up by a man from the western part of the U.S. Bis said that he takes a map of the corn field and has it overlaid with the design and he follows it on his tractor with a GPS.

“It’s really cool,” Bis said.

Like most years, it’s a soft opening for the mazes, as they will be open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays in September from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And next Friday, Sept. 21, there will be a special flashlight maze run for the public. The flashlight mazes will continue through the end of the season on Friday and Saturday nights only until 9:30 p.m., with the last ticket being sold at 9 p.m.

Starting Oct. 1 and running through Oct. 31, the mazes will be open daily - Sundays through Thursdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Admission - which is $10 for adults (age 13 and over), $7 for children ages 5 to 12 and $9 for seniors age 60 and up - includes hayrides, a farm play yard and viewing of animals, according to Bis.

All of which makes for a fun day.

“I have had fun every year,” Bis, now in her 10th year at the corn maze, said. “You meet crazy people from all over place. One person comes from Nebraska and you meet a lot of cool people. It is hectic to have at end of season coming off hay tobacco season, but it’s a lot of fun.”