‘Great Pumpkin’ rises out of country’s corn mazes

“There are three things that I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.” – Linus

Forgive us, Linus, but on this 50th anniversary of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” we have to discuss where readers might see the Great Pumpkin rise from a corn maze near them.

Peanuts Worldwide and farmers at 90 locations across the United States and Canada this month debuted corn mazes custom-designed to celebrate the golden anniversary of the animated Halloween classic that premiered on CBS in October 1966. The special follows the “Peanuts” gang celebrating Halloween while Linus spends the night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to rise from his pumpkin patch and deliver toys to the world’s deserving children.

“The ‘Great Pumpkin’ and cornfield mazes are two of the world’s greatest fall traditions, eagerly anticipated by fans every single year, and we’re so excited to bring them together for this landmark anniversary,” Jill Schulz, daughter of “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz, said in a news release. “It’s only fitting that we should find a tribute that’s both joyful and visually compelling, just as my father’s characters have been for more than 65 years.”

The mazes invited to use the comic strip-inspired designs range in size from 4 to 40 acres. The closest to Wichita is Gary’s Berries & Corn Maze, 8 miles east of Topeka. Owner Gary Starr carved into a 5-acre cornfield Snoopy as the World War I flying ace ready for takeoff on his doghouse.

Gary’s Berries started offering mazes in 2000 and while they no longer offer you-pick berries, they kept the name since everyone in the area recognized it. In addition to the “Peanuts” maze, there is an 8-acre square maze and a long list of family-friendly activities, from live animals to slides and swings to jumping pillows. A general admission fee of $10.95 includes everything except pony rides, a corn train, pumpkins and food.

“We grill burgers and brats and we cut our own curly fries,” Starr said. “We also sell pumpkin doughnuts, kettle corn, fudge and more.” The maze is open 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30.

One of the largest farms in the country chosen by Peanuts Worldwide is three hours south of Wichita. The 38-acre Maize at Reding Farm in Chickasha, Okla., is about 40 miles southwest of Oklahoma City in Chickasaw Country. To put that in perspective, the largest corn maze in Kansas is 15 acres at Bergmann’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Haysville.

Nancy and Jerry Reding, owners of Reding Farm, were just starting to brainstorm ideas for this year’s design when they were contacted about the “Peanuts” project. Nancy Reding said they were given a set of images depicting scenes from the TV special they could choose from to create a unique design with their partners at The MAiZE Inc., a cornfield maze consulting and design business.

They used six of the images to carve 10 miles of walkways into their cornfields. There is Snoopy, Linus in a pumpkin patch holding a welcome sign for the Great Pumpkin, Schroeder playing the piano and three of the characters in their Halloween costumes, including Charlie Brown in a sheet with holes in it. In their ninth season of creating mazes, the Redings have the acreage to offer three regular mazes (short, medium and hard) and a haunted maze available in the evenings, one maze used for a regular hayride and one used for a haunted hayride.

Great Pumpkin artwork on the farm invites visitors to take photos next to “Peanuts” characters. Other activities include a cow train, duck races, farm animals, lawn games, a playground, a pumpkin patch, a dairy-go-’round, a concession stand and live music on Saturday nights. Reding Farm is open 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays. There is no cost to enter the farm; however, there are admission fees for the mazes, rides and some activities. The festivities opened Sept. 30 and run through Nov. 13 (haunted maze ends Oct. 29).

The Redings attributed higher-than-average opening-weekend traffic to the themed maze and the showing of the TV special.

“Peanuts Worldwide allowed us to show the movie one time, and we chose to use it for our opening weekend to help draw people in earlier than usual,” Nancy Reding said. “Whether they stayed for the movie or not, we had ‘Peanuts’ fans all day who told us they just loved seeing the characters.”

Some of the 8,000 annual visitors at Reding Farm pop in for a walk through the 15-minute short maze, and some make a full day of their stay on the farm. Others time their visit to take in another event in Chickasaw Country, a division of the Chickasaw Nation that encompasses 13 counties in south-central Oklahoma.

Chickasaw Country is also home to the largest hay bale maze in Oklahoma, made of 1 million pounds of round hay bales grown on the Brown Ranch, 7 miles south of Ardmore just off I-35. Outside the 3B Brown Ranch Hay Maze, a three-story hay castle offers a panoramic view of the labyrinth and educational hayrides offer a glimpse into life on the fourth-generation cattle ranch. There are kids rides and a play area filled with pedal cars, scooters, diggers, seesaws, playhouses and activities.

The 3B Brown Ranch Hay Maze is open from Oct. 6 to Oct. 30 and its hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 2 to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. General admission is $10 per person (3 and under free) and includes all activities as well as hot dogs, chips, drinks and s’mores.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "‘Great Pumpkin’ rises out of country’s corn mazes."