Sunflower maze, fun for all

The Sunflower Maze

in Socorro in is full bloom

and ready for autumn fun.

To make the most of the

bloom, Pam McGroarty and

Tom Delehanty prepared

and opened the maze earlier

this year. This is their second season hosting the maze

and they have doubled the

size of the maze from two

to four acres.

“We made it bigger and,

hopefully, more difficult

for the kids than last year,”

said McGroarty.

The first year, the duo

relied on a hand measured

map and drew a plan from

that. The sunflowers were

extra tall that year, so they

had to put flags on poles to

help Delehanty eyeball the

maze on his tractor. This

year they decided to try a

new method.

“We don’t have a lot of

technology, we don’t use

drones or anything” said

McGroarty, but they measured it off using Google

maps and decided to do

more free hand curves and

circles instead of trying to

get right angles with the

tractor. The effect creates

confusing paths of twists

and turns, that is especially

challenging for the shorter

participants.

This year they are introducing Full Moon Fright

Nights with a spooky twist

on Sept. 29 and Sept 30.

Then starting on Friday

Oct. 13, they will have the

Fright Nights on Fridays

and Saturdays through the

end of the month. They

are looking for volunteers

on those nights to help

increase the horror by

dressing up and jumping

out at participants.

Through Oct. 29, the

Sunflower Maze will offer

hayrides, photo ops and

music. Pumpkins will be

available when in season.

The Sunflower Maze is

a labor of love, organized

by volunteers. Half of the

proceeds go to the Farmers’

Market and the rest goes to

material, labor and maintenance. For updated information, please visit their

Facebook page, Socorro

Sunflower Maze.