In just over a month, the Bose Family Corn Maze will open for what will be the Cloverdale attraction’s 20th year.
“Let’s get lost,” operators joke in a Facebook post that reveals this year’s maze is in the shape of the Scouts Canada logo “to honour the leaders, youth, and now children of past scouts.”
Mike Bose, who runs the popular attraction with his wife and children, said the boys scouts “have been a big part of what we do, so we thought we should celebrate them as being a part part of this for 20 years. We have leaders who have brought groups for all 20 years.”
And, by chance, the Bose family later learned it’s the 60th anniversary of the scouts in Cloverdale.
Bose told the Now-Leader the weather has been on his side this year.
“It’s rare that farmers aren’t complaining about it being too hot or too wet, and weather wise the crops are growing phenomenally. We did a couple things differently over the last year, and we’re seeing the benefits. It’s a beautiful crop and the corn maze cut out beautifully.”
This year’s maze should prove a bit easier than last.
“Last year was too. People had a real tough time getting through,” he joked. (And he may or may not have been referring to this reporter’s family, who got wildly lost in the maze on a rainy fall day last year).
“But at the same time, we’re hoping it’s not to easy,” Bose said of this year’s design. “It’s a big maze, there’s lot of twists and turns.”
READ ALSO: Cloverdale’s corn maze is ‘Canada’s largest piece of art’
(Mike Bose, operator of the Bose Corn Maze in Cloverdale. Photo: Amy Reid)
And, of course, there’s lots of corn. But just how much?
“So there’s 44,200 stalks per acre, and there’s 25 acres,” he laughed. That adds up to a whopping 1 million-plus plants.
The popular Cloverdale maze is one of the two “big ones” left in the region, Bose explained.
“When we started 20 years ago, Chilliwack was in their second year, so this is their 21st. There were nine of us back then, and after about three years the number finished to just three of us. Then the third, in Maple Ridge, packed it in after a few years of horrific weather.”
But in Cloverdale, the maze is going strong, with Bose saying people come from all over the city, and beyond.
“It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing it for 20 years. It’s been fun, there’ve been challenges, but we always enjoyed it. It’s become a part of the community.”
(Video shows a walk through the Cloverdale maze in 2017.)
What keeps people coming back?
“There’s not enough places for people to get out and be active in a natural setting,” the farmer mused. “People are much more engaged with where their food comes from. Although it’s not food for them, it’s still a farm. It’s healthy for human beings to have to go through that being lost, and finding themselves.
“I think people like the challenge of finding their way through maze,” he added. “Being lost in a controlled setting.
The maze is set to open on Aug. 27 and run through the Thanksgiving. For more details and pricing, visit bosecornmaze.com.
amy.reid@surreynowleader.com
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