USA: Heartland, Best Corn Mazes and Fall Festivals for Families 2008. From Wisconsin to Minnesota and Iowa to Indiana the idea is simple, enjoy the season. Sometimes with a pumpkin patch and sometimes haunted on weekend nights, mazes provide unique signatures as the lunar calendar ends the calendar year. Taste sweet apple butter or corncob jelly; carve a pumpkin or stuff a scarecrow; ride on a wagon full of hay or bob for apples; pretend at a RenFest; enjoy a film in Chicago. Make time for fun with your kids.
Minnesota: Rochester, Tweite's Fall Harvest Festival and Corn Maze (09/20/2008 to 10/26/2008). Located 12 minutes West of Rochester off of US Hwy 14 Tweite's has been planting memories and harvesting fun for the past 19 years. We offer quality family enjoyment for the young and young-at-heart. Each weekend enjoy 10 acres of amusements including live entertainment. Enjoy wagon rides, an Enchanted Forest, the western town called Dodge City, Harvest Town with a back forty play area, more than 24,000 square-feet of permanent mazes including a six-acre corn maze, a tire dragon and the Indiana Bones Dino Dig. Bonus points: Many areas are interactive. Check out our remodeled dairy barn loaded with tasty treats like our homemade caramel apples, cotton candy and kettle korn, just to name a few. Gate fee charged. (Tweite's Pumpkin Patch 1821 Frontier Rd SW Byron, MN 55920. (507) 365-8035 or www.tweite.com)
Minnesota: Belle Plaine, 24th Annual Emma Krumbee's Scarecrow Festival (09/13/2008 -10/31/2008). During the fall, the 45-acre orchard is alive with activity. Starting in September, the Apple Jubilee event celebrates the harvest season. From mid-September through October, the orchard is filled with more than one hundred unique handcrafted scarecrows during the Great Scarecrow Festival. There are pony, wagon rides and camel rides. Find the perfect jack-o-lantern in the Great Pumpkin Patch. Try out the all-terrain farm trikes, visit the Giant Hay Stack Jump and expanded petting zoo. Count bees in the bee observatory, walk amid the Tombstone Forest. Sample Fizzy's Ice Cream, caramel apples and pumpkin pie. Bonus points: June through October, pick your own hydroponic strawberries suspended in the air. U-Pick Apples open daily, Mid-August through October. (Emma Krumbee's Restaurant, Belle Plaine 56011. (952) 873-3006 www.emmakrumbees.com)
Illinois: Chicago International Children's Film Festival (10/23/2008-11/2/2008). For a city event this one is splendid. CICFF is celebrating it 25th anniversary this year! It is the largest competitive festival of children's films in the United States and is hailed as the Cannes for Kids; the festival presents the very best in non-violent multicultural films for children ages 3 to 13. At every screening, a panel of kids cast their votes for the Best of the Fest Award as well as other awards and prizes for excellence. There will be post-screening discussions with more than 100 directors, producers, and actors in attendance. Bonus points: This year's festival will feature 200 animated and live action films from 40 countries. (1 (773) 281-9075 or www.cicff.org)
Ohio: Lebanon, Pumpkin Patch Express (09/27/2008 – 11/02/2008). Every autumn the Lebanon Mason Monroe (LM&M) Railroad runs a special Pumpkin Patch Express through Warrant County to Schappacher Farm in Mason, where special homemade snacks are for sale. Ticket price includes a petting zoo, pumpkin pie and admittance to a corn maze on a real working farm. Need to know: Trains sell out quickly and a limited number of tickets are available on event days on a first-come-first served basis, so advance ticket purchase is recommended. (Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad, 127 S. Mechanic Street, Lebanon 45036. 1(513) 933-8022 or www.lebanonrr.com)
Wisconsin: Sturgeon Bay, Schopf's Corn Maze and Cookie's Pirate Adventure (08/20/2008 - 10/31/2008). This year checkout Dairy View Farm and enjoy the season Door County's famous "Cookie" the Cow. With three separate mazes rolled up into one, the 2007 maze has a trail for everyone; the Orange Maze route runs for two miles, the Black Maze runs for two and a half miles, and the Green Maze comes in at 3.3 miles of winding trail. Also within the maze are three optional games based on finding hidden maze stations - a great game for the whole family to play together. Uniquely shaped paper punches await the players at each of the destination points and participants are expected to find all of the stations and punch as proof. The season ends with a special Halloween Maze event. Bonus points: Make time for a free, working dairy farm tour. Watch milking operations, milk "Cookie" the cow and then stop at the ice cream shop and browse the flavors. Staff note: We visited Cookie when the maze was very young but it looked quite promising. It is a neat place with fun people and terrific ice cream. (5169 County I, Sturgeon Bay, 54235. 1 (920) 743-9779 or www.dairyview.com)
Iowa: St. Urbandale, Corn Harvest (10/04/2008 - 10/05/2008). The smell of apple butter wafts through the air in the 1875 town of Walnut Hill as you sample some of the bountiful harvest Iowa has produced. At the farm sites, learn about the history of corn with hands-on activities and a horse-drawn wagon ride into the fields to watch demonstrations of the machinery used to harvest corn from 1910 to the 1950. Learn the correct techniques for hand-picking corn beside a horse-drawn wagon, pitching the husked ears of corn against a bang-board and into the wagon bed. Corn is more than food. Learn about modern varieties and uses of corn in cars, airplanes, and other staples of 21st-Century life. Stop by the Visitor Center to sample products produced by Iowa companies. Bonus points: On the 4th you can attend an authentic barn dance where you can learn traditional dances while enjoying the live Flying Pig Fiddle and Banjo band. (Living History Farms, 2600 111th St. Urbandale, 50322. or 1(515)278-5286 or www.lhf.org)
Indiana: Hobart, County Line Orchard Fall Harvest Festival and Corn Maze (08/30/2008 - 10/31/2008). Enjoy the season with orchard tours and you-pick apples and pumpkins, Kid's Farm and petting zoo, 8-acre corn maze, bee barn and picnic area. See working bees at observation hives in the orchard, baby chicks hatching everyday and goats up in the trees and Peter Pumpkin Eater getting his teeth cleaned after munching on pumpkins. The Little Kid's Barnyard has miniature tractors, tools, wheelbarrows, and even a kid-sized barn and a Moo Choo just for little kids. Bonus points: Past the apple trees near the MAiZE, begins the Trio of Fears not for the faint-hearted. It all begins at the end of a long wagon ride sits a rustic shack at the edge of the woods. There awaits the gatekeeper, who sets you on a dimly lit path through the trees. The way is narrow and uneven, and haunted things abound. You'll have to crawl through one part, and feel your way through pitch-black passages and experience Nocturnia the haunted barn. (County Line Orchard & The Barn: 200 County Line Rd., Hobart (219) 947-4477 or www.countylineorchard.com)
Michigan: Michigan Renaissance Festival (08/16/2008 - 09/29/2008). Discover an enchanted realm of wizards and warriors amongst gourmet treats and unforgettable entertainment. Wander past eight lively stages and street theater featuring jugglers, magicians, fire eaters, and specialty acts. Check out live armored contact jousting three times daily, human chess matches, minstrels, maidens faire, peasants, fools, and royalty. Bonus points: The festival also has special theme weekends like Highland Weekend, featuring the US/Canadian Highland Games and Bagpipe Blowout as well as International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is recommended for grandparents and children. There is also a "Sweet Endings" Chocolate Festival. See the website for more details. (12500 Dixie Highway, Holly, 48442. 1-800-779-4910 or www.michrenfest.com)
Minnesota: Minneapolis, Sever's Corn Maze (9/20/2008 - 11/2/2008). Sever's Corn Maze and Fall Festival delights maze-goers with a fun and challenging 14-acre corn maze. Again this year, Sever's Corn Maze and Fall Festival will boast the world's largest straw bale maze-1/3 of an acre in size; a huge, exotic petting zoo with animals from around the world including lemurs and camels, kangaroos, etc. There will also be pumpkin slinger; a corn pit, hay rides; pig races; camel rides; live music; and much more. Bonus points: There is a discount coupon at their website. (Just south of the Twin Cities next to Canterbury Park, Shakopee 1 (952) 974-5000 or www.severscornmaze.com)
Minnesota: Shakopee, Minnesota Renaissance Festival (08/16/2008 - 09/28/2008). Discover an enchanted realm of wizards and warriors amongst gourmet treats and unforgettable entertainment. Wander past eight lively stages and street theater featuring jugglers, magicians, fire eaters, and specialty acts. Check out live armored contact jousting three times daily, human chess matches, minstrels, maidens faire, peasants, fools, and royalty. Bonus points: You can also enjoy special theme weekends including ones dedicated to Scottish and Irish culture as well as a special Italian Carnivale weekend! (12364 Chestnut Blvd, Shakopee. 1-800-779-4910 or www.renaissancefest.com)
Nebraska: Denton, Benson Farms MAiZE (9/26/2008 - 10/31/2008). Imagine green and gold cornstalks towering 12 feet high set in a deliberately confusing pattern by an agro-artist, it's a challenge to master. Camp fires and mini mazes are only part of what you'll find at Benson Farms - there's also a pumpkin patch, a corn box, a hay jump, hay rides, and a corn tunnel which is really a maze tunnel constructed from corn that's great for those with a penchant for exploration. Bonus points: On Friday and Saturday night you can enjoy Fright Nights. Recommended for ages 12 and up you can take a walk through a spooky, haunted maze. This event is very popular so expect to stand in line. (6000 SW 140th Street, Denton. 1 (402) 795-3276 or www.bensonfarms.com)
Ohio: Germantown, Tom Eby Farm Maze (08/30/2008-11/02/2008). A rural wonder, the 8-acre natural puzzle game features three miles of paths to navigate. The challenge- to find 12 puzzle pieces located throughout the maze. The American flag flies proudly over the Victory Bridge at the end of the hunt. For night owls, the site is open after dark. Bonus points: As a bonus the maze complex has a unique hands-on area with toys and musical instruments made of homegrown hard-shelled gourds. You might also enjoy Tom's Pumpkin Cannon. (Tom Eby Farm 8295 Farmersville-W. Carrollton Rd. Germantown, 45327. 1(937) 866-2777 or www.tomsmaze.com)
More Resources
Haunted Wisconsin. For families in or near Wisconsin this is a delightful resource for Halloween happenings. The innovative site provides up-to-date information on commercial haunted houses, corn mazes, spooky trails, pumpkin patch locations, and fun for the season. (Go to www.hauntedwisconsin.com)
Maze Play. This directory with listings across the United States and Canada is easy to navigate; each listing provides the essentials to make a corn adventure happen. Just reviewing the listing is entertaining. Maze themes include the Green Bay Packers at Schoph farms in Wisconsin to Indian themes at Uncle Shucks in Georgia. (Go to www.Mazeplay.com)
Corn Field Maze. A delightful resource for maze locations and information, including location maps for USA, Canada, Italy Mexico, and England. (Go to www.cornfieldmaze.com)
Information compiled from theFamilyTravelFiles.com database as of July 2008. Sometimes things change, so please confirm details before making plans. Images provided by respective venues. Copyright 2008.
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