GODFREY - It might be the middle of July, but Godfrey’s Parks and Recreation Department is looking forward to autumn and the Great Godfrey Maze.
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This year’s maze will be Peanuts-themed. It will open in mid-September and run through the end of October. Families can enjoy the maze, inflatables, a cow train, a corn crib, wagon rides, a concession stand and more activities every Friday and Saturday.
“It is exciting. We always look forward to the maze,” said Chris Logan, Godfrey’s Parks and Recreation director. “It’s one of our oldest attractions we have here, and we’re happy we can still do it. It’s always fun to see the kids and families come.”
The maze and activities will be available from 6–10 p.m. on Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays. Starting on Oct. 4, 2024, the haunted maze will invite visitors to celebrate Halloween.
While there’s still some time before the maze opens, the Parks and Recreation department has been planning it for months. The corn was planted a few months ago, and the Maze Company recently came by to spray the crops.
Using backpack sprayers and a GPS, the company walks through the cornfield and sprays chemicals to kill the corn. The corn dies where it was sprayed. The remaining corn grows up around these bare patches, creating the maze pattern. Logan said this process is “actually kind of crazy,” and he looks forward to watching it every year.
The Great Godfrey Maze will once again be a corn maze after several years of hemp. Logan noted that the crop rotation was beneficial for the soil, but the hemp was not as sturdy as corn. He hopes the maze’s visitors will appreciate the corn as much as he does.
“We always get crowds out there, and I think they’ll be excited to see corn again,” he said. “The hemp was fine, but corn is just more autumnal. It just seems more like a fall theme. So it’ll be fun. It was a corn maze for years and hopefully it’s a corn maze again. We’re excited no matter what’s in the field, but we’re just hoping that we get a really good maze out of it.”
As the corn grows and the maze takes shape, Logan is looking forward to the Great Godfrey Maze’s opening date in September. You can visit the Village of Godfrey Parks and Recreation Department on Facebook to stay up-to-date on the maze and the attractions.
“There are lots of fun things to do,” Logan added. “Families really enjoy it, so we’re happy to offer it again.”
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