STERLING, Mass. - A sure sign of fall, the Davis Mega Maze is hosting their grand opening this weekend and this year the corn maze has a “sweet” theme.
This year’s Mega Maze in Sterling is putting a spotlight on a famous fictional candy maker.
“We wanted people above all else just to have fun," owner Larry Davis said. "And somehow the Wonka maze came to mind, and it was like, that's perfect. And it's sweet fun.”
From gumdrop pathways to a gobstopper toss, this year’s "Willy Wonka" theme adds to the list of nearly 30 different mazes they’ve created since 1998. Davis said they’re already thinking about next year.
“It literally takes a year to plan out and literally map out each maze and to get the, you know, what it's going to look like from the sky is very important," Davis said. "But at the same time, this is the only world class maze in New England and that means that the pathways and the rows of corn, they have to fit certain dimensions.”
The field maze is open on weekends through the end of October and they’re hoping for better weather this fall.
Kids under 13 years old must be accompanied by an adult at all times and Davis said usually they’re the key to solving the maze quickly.
“Adults get way too caught up in, you know, 'am I doing the right thing?' 'Am I going the wrong way, way?' You know, how do I - mentally how do I figure this out?' Kids, they just do it. They go out and do it. Just follow the youngest person in your crowd and do what they do," Davis said. "And you're guaranteed to get out almost quicker than any other way.”
The Mega Maze has seven different levels of difficulty through miles of paths across about eight acres of corn.
“What I strongly recommend, especially for somebody that's never done a maze before, just try to go through and survive and go through, get out of the maze," Davis said. "Hopefully it'll take you, what could be 30 minutes to three hours, hopefully closer to 30 minutes and then decide, 'okay, now I've done level one. What about the other six levels?'”
And no matter what route you take, Davis said it’s all about having a good time, and this year, going for gold.
“When you get up here on the David Ortiz Victory Bridge," Davis said, "you ring the bell, you claim victory, and you also get to hold the Wonka golden ticket.”