Ballantyne Magazine covers news, events, real estate, restaurants, shopping, health, schools and business in the upscale Ballantyne Area of Charlotte, NC.
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Maze Craze Hall Family Farm Corn Field is 'Agri-tainment' Star CORN MAZES GIVE THE TERM "EXIT STRATEGY" A NEW MEANING. The American version of ancient labyrinths and English hedge Designing by GPS What makes the Hall Family Farm maze so unusual is that unlike gardens, these tour puzzles set amid dense rows of leafy corn stalks many larger operations, Kevin and Lara design and cut it themselves are rapidly becoming an annual fall fad across the country as a form with a little help from high technology — an expensive piece of of "agri-tainment." equipment that contains a special laptop with a software program that Here in Ballantyne, the Hall Family Farm on Providence Road West joined the craze last year with a five-acre corn maze designed around relies on GPS and is fitted into a backpack with an antenna. The couple begins by using the GPS to map the perimeter of their a Carolinas theme. The maze was such a hit that Kevin and Lara Hall, maze on the laptop. Once that is complete, they print the map on who farm the land owned by their six aunts and uncles, are staging paper, manually design the interior web of the maze and then scan it another corn maze during their annual Fall Festival, which runs from back into the laptop. mid-September to Oct. 30. This year's theme, "Pharaoh's Curse," features an Egyptian motif. The actual cutting process took the couple eight hours last year. When the corn was knee-high in July, the two headed out into the field Like last year, the maze has more than two miles of paths, as well with Lara walking, wearing the backpack with its GPS antenna and as a bridge over three of the intersecting paths, a configuration that Kevin following slowly on a large mower. She signaled him by hand the multiplies the complexity of the solution. precise points at which he was to turn. Participants receive a map subdivided into nine grid spaces. Hidden Paths are purposely kept to five-feet wide to prevent congregating, in each grid is a mailbox that contains a hint to finding their way out. and the maze has no blind alleys because people will follow a beaten "Last year 75 percent of people got out properly during the daytime," path. A maze for small children that's about a fifth of a mile is also says Kevin, noting that, on average, those successful located five of incorporated into the larger maze, with easy-to-find clues where kids the nine mailbox clues. But it isn't necessary to discover any of the can get their map stamped. mailboxes to find the exit. The fastest time from start to finish without finding any of the Cookouts, Bonfres mailboxes is about 20 minutes (about a quarter mile), but last year "People who do well are those with a good sense of direction and most people spent about 45 minutes to discover the exit, and some memory, because you have to walk over the same spots and remember wandered for up to two hours. them," Kevin advises. To ensure safety and provide an out for those who get so frustrated Last fall several local companies rented large tents for cookouts that they give up, the farm gives each participant a flag they can wave and enjoyed bonfires while employees walked the maze. Teens, in and positions a person on the bridge at all times for help. In addition, particular, flocked to the maze as word of mouth spread from Fort the farm has a watchtower with someone who can be reached at a Mill High School students who rated the Hall Family Farm maze the special cellphone number that participants are given when they enter toughest around. the maze. In addition to the corn maze, this year's Fall Festival features the To kick the challenge up a notch, the maze is open Friday and Saturday nights until 10. With the corn as high as an elephant's eye, stalks loom like apparitions in the moonlight. "You have to farm's pumpkins and wagon rides, as well as its popular homemade funnel cakes and cider slushies. The farm's Facebook page now has 3,000 local followers. They carry a flashlight, and with the corn rows reaching 12- to 16-feet receive daily updates from Kevin on conditions during strawberry high, it can be a very surreal experience," Kevin says. "We also play season and the Fall Festival. Admission to the festival is free, with eerier music (than daytime), which adds to the experience. Our maze tickets $8 for ages 9 and up and $6 for children age 3 through maze is not haunted, however, because many families with children 8. For more information, visit www.hallfamilyfarm.com or call come through." 704-562-4021. Last year's maze was such a hit that Kevin and Lara Hall are staging another one during their annual Fall Festival, which runs from mid-September to Oct. 30. FALL 20 1 3 BALLANTYNE MAGAZINE 77