Manitoba corn maze offers tricky twists and turns for Canada 150
Farmer says maze drawing out map of Canada is the largest, most complex he has ever built
A new Canada 150-inspired corn maze in Manitoba will give visitors the chance to walk coast to coast to coast.
Vince Rattai is the owner of Deer Meadow Farms, located in the Rural Municipality of Springfield, just outside Winnipeg's Transcona neighbourhood.
He said his maze this year is the biggest and most complex design he's attempted in six years of making mazes in his corn field.
"We're hoping they're going to be wowed by what they see here," he said.
The maze follows the outline of the map of Canada and includes representative symbols in its different "regions," like a dogsled in the North, a fishing boat on the East Coast and a oil well in Alberta.
It measures 3.7 hectares, or 9.1 acres — larger than five CFL football fields.
Rattai said he likes the challenge of themed mazes. In the past, he has created a maze in the shape of a polar bear, mimicked the Blue Bombers logo and even created a spiderweb — complete with black widow spiders.
With 2017 marking the 150th anniversary of Confederation, he said the cross-Canada theme was a clear winner.
The farmer hired corn maze designer Brent Polson to bring the idea to life.
Polson, who used more than 1,000 GPS plot points to create the maze, said the complexity of the map and symbols was a big challenge — and he has been in the corn maze business for 17 years. Even he got lost at one point cutting the design.
With corn in the field measuring about three metres high, Polson used a flagpole to direct Rattai where to drive his lawn mower.
Polson said visitors should be prepared to get lost.
"It's going to be a tricky one for sure," said Polson. "Bring a bottle of water and try your best."
The maze is expected to take about 30 minutes to an hour for an adult to complete.
Rattai recently moved Deer Meadow Farms from its previous location on Deacon Road to its new location on Springfield Road.
He hopes to have the corn maze open and ready for visitors by Sept. 2.
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With files from Radio Noon and Holly Caruk