It’s one thing to find yourself in a corn maze — or to lose yourself in one, for that matter — but this weekend you can scope the whole thing out first at an unusual fundraising event being hosted by Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm in Bon Accord.
There are three different corn mazes at Prairie Gardens and many harvest-related activities to take part in, but the largest seven-acre wide maze will also be the location where Re/Max will tether its hot air balloon.
“It’s tricky because it’s an interactive puzzle with 10 different stages. It’s quite different when you get to see the maze from above,” said Prairie Gardens owner Tam Andersen.
The balloon rides are offered to the public for a charitable donation of $5 per child and $10 per adult. All proceeds will be given to the Military Families Resource Centre at the Canadian Armed Forces Edmonton Garrison.
“We are working with Edmonton Garrison because of the wonderful community help and support its resource centre gives to military families,” Andersen said, adding that military families make up 70 per cent of the population in and around Bon Accord.
Andersen estimated the height of the corn in the maze at about three metres.
“The rain in July and then the heat lately has produced a superb crop of silage corn, for cows. We will have a corn cannon and people can shoot the corn at a target,” she said.
Other events at the Fall-O-Ween Festival include a gem-panning game at the farm dugout, which is now named Prairie Gardens Lost Lemon Mine.
There will be musical entertainment, farmyard tours, a puppet theatre and a chance to make your own scarecrow.
Prairie Gardens (780-921-2272) is located at 56311 Lily Lake Road, just north of Bon Accord. The Fall-O-Ween event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends of Sept. 17 and 18 and Sept. 24 and 25. On Saturdays, the corn maze will be open until 10 p.m. Admission to the farm festival is $9.95 per person for ages two and older and $9.25 per person for families of four or more.
The Re/Max Hot Air Balloon Tether fundraiser on behalf of the Military Family Resource Centre is Saturday, Sept. 17, only from noon until 5 p.m.
