Marini Farm in Ipswich has a "family farm" corn maze, while Connors Farm in Danvers has a "Family Guy" one.
Both mazes open to the public on Sept. 12.
Farmer Bobby Connors, whose first maze last year proved very popular, said this is the first time Stewie and Brian Griffin, characters on the edgy, prime-time animated FOX cartoon show, have been depicted in maize.
Marini Farm owner Mike Marini, 30, had been mowing his own maze on 8 acres for the past eight years to attract people to the farm stand on Linebrook Road. This year he brought in a company from Pennsylvania, Maize Quest, to create a maze on the rolling field adjacent to the farm stand. This is the first year Marini Farm will charge admission to its corn maze.
"It seems as if it's grown every year," Marini said of the popularity of his maze, "so it's time to make the next step."
Professionally created, interactive corn mazes, designed using GPS, are growing in popularity, according to their creators.
"We are doing 240 this year," said maze artists Brett Herbst, a founder and owner of Utah-based The Maize, which built the Connors Farm maze. "Five years ago, we probably did 150. ... Ten years ago we did about 20."
"I think people are looking for a place that is not just the same old place," said Herbst. "Going out to the farm is a unique experience."
Also unique is the TV-show-themed maze.
"This is the first of its kind," Herbst said.
Connors is a big fan of the show and wanted to bring it to life, after having a maze professionally carved at his 100-year-old family farm last year.
The maze, which can be seen by planes taking off and landing at Beverly Airport, depicts the show's characters, with "Family Guy" at the top and "Connors Farm" below.
Connors had his Web designer, Mark Jones of Mead Web Design and Computing, seek out officials at Twentieth Century Fox and obtain the rights. Fox even waived its rights fees.
"It makes me laugh," Connors, 44, said of the show. "I like to get my mind off work at the end of the day."
While he had to do a lot more work partnering with Fox, Connors said, "I think it's going to pay dividends."
Last year, Connors jumped into the maze business when he had The Maize carve a scarecrow on 7 acres of cow corn along Valley Road, the field across from the farm stand.
"It was crazy busy, not so much when we started, but once we got into October, it was insane here," Connors said.
Tough year for corn
Both farmers say they are friends and are not in competition.
"I think we are going to play off one another," Connors said.
Both will have bridges and passports or interactive games which will give maze-goers clues to get out. Marini's maze will feature clues you can get via 3-D glasses and text messaging.
"We are really focusing on family interaction," Marini said.
Connors Farm will have passports with clues from the "Family Guy" show, with some clue passports that are edgy for older viewers, and some that are just for kids.
Both farmers said for some reason they had trouble growing their corn this summer. The maze at Connors Farm was planted in June, and it was created using a weed killer called Roundup to make the paths. However, rain washed a lot of it away, so Bill Jannelle of Peabody, whom Connors now calls "the Maze Man," has been weeding it by hand since June 10.
The corn crop was also hit by a flock of red-winged blackbirds, which ate half the maze and forced Connors to plant another 100,000 corn plants by hand.
"It's been a very big challenge," Connors said.
Marini's maze was cut with a rototiller, but the wet weather forced him to replant rows.
Parents see the corn maze as a way to get kids away from the TV (somewhat ironic, given the "Family Guy" theme) and video games.
"A corn maze is a fun activity on a farm that has big draw because of those factors," said Herbst, whose company has corn mazes in Fitchburg, Plympton and Dunstable in Massachusetts, and in various locations in New Hampshire and Maine.
"There are certainly more farms doing it but it does take a special farmer to get into the entertainment business," said Hugh McPherson, the owner of Maize Quest.
Can agriculture mesh with entertainment?
"Certainly, if you are wired for it, you bet," McPherson said. "When you are in the entertainment business, you are competing against others," like the movies and Disney Land.
While more farmers are installing corn mazes, they are also turning to companies to help them provide the experience.
"The ones that are going to be successful are the ones that are focusing on the experience," said McPherson, who installed the first corn maze on the family farm in Pennsylvania. Maize Quest now has mazes in 45 locations.
And what's going to happen to all that corn?
Connors has acquired a corn cannon, which guests will use to shoot ears at targets set up in a pond. Marini will give the corn to Colby Farm, which will feed it to their pigs.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salem news.com.
If you go
Connors Farm
Dates of operation: Sept. 12 through Oct. 31.
Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays in October, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sundays and Holidays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: $8.75 adults; $6.75 for kids 4 to 11 and seniors; children under 3 free. Classroom and group reservations available.
For more information: Go to www.connorsfarm.com or call 978-777-1245.
Marini Farm
Dates of operation: Sept. 12 through Oct. 31.
Hours of operation: Sept. 12 through Oct. 8: Thursdays, Fridays, 3 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 to 6 p.m.; Oct. 9 through Oct. 31; Thursdays, 3 to 6 p.m., Fridays, 3 to 9 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Flashlight nights in October, Fridays, 6 to 9 p.m. (Bring your own flashlights)
Admission: $9.50 adults, children ages 3 to 12, $7.50; groups discounts available.
For more information: Call 978-356-0430 or go to www.marinifarm.com or www.cornmaze.com
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