Press Releases - Great Prairie Corn Maze

For Immediate Release – August 21, 2008   Corn Fest – Leaves ‘em Grinning Ear to Ear -Even After Dark!  Bon Accord AB, August 21, 2008 – Come visit Prairie Gardens, Bon Accord, for the first ever Corn Fest, a three-day outdoor farm festival – this coming long weekend, Saturday, August 30, to Holiday Monday, September 1, 2008. Huge family fun, this corny maze adventure will have the kids grinning ear to ear!     Jump in a corn-eating contest, work with your family to build the tallest and most creative corn stalk creature, make a corn husk doll, sample an ear of freshly roasted corn, and grab a flashlight! Getting lost in the amazingly tall cornfield dragon trails after dark is ‘ear-resistible’ fun! “The Corn Fest experience is about connecting with local agriculture, nature, and having wholesome fun on the farm.” explains Tam Andersen, local corn grower and Director of Fun. “The hot August weather has ensured tall four meter high maze-corn, and there is an abundance of sweet corn to enjoy.” In addition to sampling fresh corn on the cob, there are bushels of extra activities. Locals and visitors alike can easily stay all day – and after dark until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday nights! For those less inclined to pit their wits to solve the seven acre Dragon Maze, there are easier challenges. The little folk can solve the Kid’s Maize Labyrinths and Straw-bale Maze. Go for a wagon ride, ‘gem’ mine, and leap into the soft straw at the Bale Jump, paint a zucchini, and cuddle the baby goats at Petting Farm - all included as part of the entrance fee. The Corn Palace Cantina is serving up festive fare of corn bread, roasted sweet corn, strawberry sundaes, hot dogs, refreshments and ice cream. Groups can make reservations for campfire sites with hotdog or corn roasts to enjoy evening maze adventures by flashlight from now until October.   Out-of town visitors to the maze can book an Air-Maizing Fun package, which includes an overnight stay with Fantasyland Hotel, an E-Z Air Helicopter Services metro Heli-tour of Edmonton, Maze passes, and a West Edmonton Mall Super Savings Coupon Book.   Providing safe, age-appropriate, and fun family activities, Prairie Gardens has earned the endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers, and hosts over 6000 children to the farm every season. Prairie Gardens is a GALA (Growing Alberta Leadership-Community Spirit) award winning farm and Edmonton Countryside Agri-Tourism Attraction, owned and operated by the Andersen Family in Bon Accord, AB, 25 minutes north of Edmonton on HWY 28. Corn Maze Admission is $30/Family (4) or $8/Individual. Free for Tots 2 & under. More Information: www.PrairieGardens.org                                       -30-   Direct media enquiries to: Tam Andersen, Prairie Gardens and Greenhouses P. 780.921.2272 Cel.780.909.6601

For Immediate Release – July 28, 2008   Dragons Have Landed in an Edmonton Countryside Corn Maze!   Sturgeon County, AB, July 28, 2008 – DRAGONS are the stuff of myth and folklore. Except, that is, in the Edmonton countryside, where one has recently been spotted by helicopters just north of the city. A huge, green, winged dragon, over 5000 meters long! With special emphasis on roaring good family fun,  the Great Prairie Corn Maze, Edmonton’s favorite cornfield attraction near Bon Accord, is set for a third season premiere – DRAGONS! on August 1st, 2008.   Sturgeon County’s Mayor, Don Rigney, will officially cut the ribbon to this adventure on Wednesday, July 30th at 9:30am at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Prairie Gardens, 56311, Lily Lake Road, just north of Bon Accord. Mayor Rigney comments, “This is a great way to celebrate agriculture and rural tourism in Sturgeon County! It’s huge real family fun!”   On August 1st, Flashlight Maze Adventures will start the season with a special challenge - Maze by Dark - until 10 pm. Designed by Precision Mazes of Kansas City, Missouri, with special ‘E-Z’ out exits, this season’s Dragon maze adds a whole new dimension to getting lost. And found! Watch for roving giants- Dragons, princesses, and knights, in partnership with the Royal Alberta Museum Dragon Exhibition, Discover Fest, and Prairie Garden’s Giant Puppets.   The Fairy~Berry Festival, this August long weekend (Aug. 2, 3, 4), from 10am to 6pm daily, launches the maze. A celebration of children’s imagination, fairy tales, sweet morsels of Fairy-strawberries, and the long lost cornfield maze kingdom of Drake the Dragon. The all new original Cornstalk Puppet Theatre ‘The Dragon Who Got Lost’, a lively musical with Drake, Sir LunchaLot, and Princess Pumpkin, will entertain all ages. Tam Andersen, Director of Fun, explains “The response has been truly A-maizing! Dragons are hot this year!” This is a full day of fun farm activities, including ‘gem’ mining, Dragon’s Den, baby bunnies, bale mazes, wagon rides, campfires, and the AirMaizing Fun contest, with a chance to win over $1000 in prizes from Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall, Prairie Gardens and E-Z Air Helicopter Services.   Prairie Gardens is committed to providing the fun learning environment for children across the region. Providing safe, age-appropriate, and fun family activities, Prairie Gardens has earned the endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers, and hosts over 6000 children to the farm every season. Prairie Gardens is a GALA (Growing Alberta Leadership-Community Spirit) award winning farm and Edmonton Countryside Agri-Tourism Attraction, owned and operated by the Andersen Family in Bon Accord, AB. Corn Maze Admission is $30/Family (4) or $8/Individual. Free for Tots 2 & under. More Information: www.PrairieGardens.org                                     -30- Direct media enquiries to: James Murgatroyd, Play It By Ear Productions -780-887-3033 cell Tam Andersen, Director of Fun, Prairie Gardens - 780.921.2272