The corn stalks rustle in the wind as students with mud in their toes frolic through the maze in hopes of finding the end. Adrenaline rushes as the clock ticks away. Who will make it out first?
This year’s popular Halloween attraction, the Cobb Ranch cornfield maze, has been overwhelmed with visitors since its opening day.
“It’s been packed so far this year,” Derrin Schmall, Cobb Ranch partner and overseer, said. “On average we get about 500-1,000 visitors a night. Fridays and Saturdays are definitely the most packed, mainly with college and high school kids.”
This fall many students are choosing alternative ways to celebrate Halloween and the 2004 harvest season,
“The maze is exciting but frustrating,” Tara Albrechtson, ’06, said. “It was hard to tell where I was a lot of the time, and there were other people jumping out at us.”
This year’s 2 1/2-mile corn maze has 10-foot tall corn stalks and is in the shape of the Fresno Bee’s mascot, Scoopy.
“Each year we have a different sponsor that we create the maze after,” Tom Cobb said. “In years past we’ve had the Fresno Falcons hockey team and Valley Children’s Hospital sponsor us for the season.”
Despite the frustration of getting lost, Tim Westra, ’05, said the overall maze experience was excellent.
“I went a few weeks ago with a bunch of my friends,” Westra said. “We got stuck at the third marker for a while. I thought this year’s maze was harder than other years before, but it was so much fun.”
This year marks the fourth year of the cornfield maze and the Cobb Ranch location. In previous years the maze was located near Valley Children’s Hospital.
“I went at night a while back with some of my friends,” Hillary Kell, ’05, said. “It’s so much better at night.”
Cobb Ranch is open now through Oct. 31. Hours are from 6 -10 P.M. Monday through Friday, 10 A.M.-10 P.M., Saturday, and 1-10 P.M., Sunday.
Adult admission is $9 (ages 12 and up); children admissions are $7 (ages 5 to 11) and ages 4 and under are free. Cobb Ranch also offers other holiday activities like a pumpkin patch, Christmas tree farm, hayrides and The Pizza Farm.
For more information parents and students can contact the high school office at 299-1695, ext. 5 or call Cobb Ranch at (559) 439-0606. Also visit www.centralvalley.com for other entertainment ideas during the holidays.
