Chilliwack’s family run corn maze is in its 25th year of operation.

Opening in 1999, the Chilliwack Corn Maze at Greendale Acres was the first corn maze in Canada. It was started by John Bruinsma and his wife Diane after John read an article about a corn maze in Utah. Bruinsma, inspired by the story, decided to do the same in Chilliwack, and the rest as they say is history. 

“The primary reason it was started was to connect people with agriculture. So that they can understand the importance of it,” Vanessa Oddy, one of John and Diane’s daughters who own and carry on their parents legacy, says.

John and his business partner started the corn maze in 1999 because they “wanted people to come and have access to agriculture and to teach people.”

25 years later, the Corn Maze is one of Chilliwack’s biggest attractions. A location and fun activity that for the past quarter century is shared with each generation of the community. The corn maze even has been mentioned as one of the Top 25 attractions newcomers to the Greater Vancouver area should experience by The Daily Hive.

“It is such an honor to carry on this incredible legacy,” says Oddy. “It's been 25 years now, when we were kids, it was simply a field and a trailer and people would come and it was really exciting. The coolest part about it is that that's our memories, but now there's thousands of people that have memories as well, it becomes part of their childhood, their memories, their family traditions. Which makes it so important for us to create a space for people to enjoy the farm, the land, um, and enjoy each other as families.”

Oddy explains that it takes months of planning and preparation to put on the corn maze. Starting with the initial drawing of the maze design by a friend. To get a corporation to come in and “maze-ify” the land and cut out the paths when the corn is only five or six inches grown.

Each year, the Corn Maze has a new design, reflecting the community, important events, and organizations that Greendale Acres partners with, according to its owners.

“Where I love to focus our attention on is that we have so many acres and this message that we can send in the sky to thousands of people. And what is that going to be?” Vanessa says. “Every year we sit down and we really think about the impact that the maze design is going to have on people that come and experience the maze.”

The maze continues this educational aspect to this day: they conduct classes in October and spring and fall field trips with school and other community groups to learn about agriculture and the full circle nature of its role in Chilliwack and B.C.

Greendale Acres welcomes everyone at the maze until October 31.

Listen to the full interview with Vanessa Oddy while walking The Chilliwack Corn Maze here: