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Video games felt like our only entertainment last year, but now that many of us are out and about again, it's time to slash the screen time and enjoy living IRL. Thankfully, much of 2021's past times meld easily with 2020's comforts, and this new corn maze is one such example. At Happy Day Farm in Manalapan, New Jersey, a Super Mario corn maze celebrates Mario's 35th Birthday in true autumnal style.
The 10-acre corn maze, created specifically for this fall, has two paths: a shorter one (15 min–25 min) for younger maze wanderers, and a more challenging one (45 min–60 min) for the maze enthusiasts. It was also recently voted one of the top 10 corn mazes in the country by USA Today.
Happy Day Farm has been creating elaborate corn mazes since 2012, changing the theme each year to appeal to locals and tristate tourists. Past themes include New Jersey celebrities, the Super Bowl and Curious George.
In February, the Happy Day Farm team sits down and researches anniversaries or relevant events happening that year to decide what the corn maze theme will be. Social media fans are also asked for input. When the idea is finalized, they submit the idea to a Utah-based company that creates a digital design concept.
The maze is then planted in mid-June, with corn planted in two directions, north and south, east and west. "This creates a grid pattern," explains Alexis Neuman, the farm's marketing director. "Our design is transferred to grid paper and accordingly, the design is transferred from the grid to our field. The corn stalks in the path of the design are removed, row by row, with a herbicide." At this point, the Utah company travels to Jersey to help make this happen. The process allows the corn to grow around the paths and an elaborate themed corn maze is formed!
Tickets to Happy Day Farm's harvest festival, which the maze is a part of, can be booked online for $20. The maze can also be rented after hours for private events.