About the Farm
Maris Farms in Buckley, WA has become synonymous with fall family fun and entertainment over the past decade. The core activities at the fall event are and always have been the corn maze and pumpkin patch, which will celebrate their 11th anniversary at this location. Another popular venue at the farm, the now infamous haunted woods, is in its eighth season.
Maris Farms in Buckley, Washington
From a Pumpkin Patch …
What started as a humble and quaint pumpkin patch has sprouted into a full-fledged “agritainment” destination for many thousands of Pierce County families. It serves patrons of all ages who seek the thrill of navigating their way through the 8-acre corn maze, searching for and finding that perfect pumpkin in the 10-acre pumpkin patch or braving the now infamous haunted woods.
For those wanting the more laid back, “farmish” type visit, there’s plenty of good food options, scenic hayrides around the pumpkin patch and an animal barn full of goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens and pigs; and for those with a bit more energy who are seeking the more adrenalin-driven activities, there’s pig races, the kids’ courtyard (an overgrown playground of sorts with about a dozen kids’ activities), a huge jumping pillow, monster truck rides, large tube slides, pumpkin and corn shooters and even entertainment.
“You should be able to come here and spend at least half a day enjoying any number of activities,” says Dale Maris, who dairied on the 40-acre location for 15+ years before selling his herd and turning it into what it is today. “There’s an activity for every age group and it’s as affordable and wholesome a form of family entertainment as you’ll find anywhere.”
The Maris Farm Partners
Maris joined forces with his sister (Joanne Templeman), brother-in-law (Steve Templeman) and mother, Kay, to form a partnership – Maris Maze, LLC – in 2000. The first corn maze (a rendering of Mount Rainier) was all of 4 acres and sat in what is now one of three parking lots at Maris Farms. The Haunted Woods venue was added in 2003 and has grown into legendary scary status. And as the fall events and activities have continued to expand, so to has the idea of bringing new events all together to Maris Farms. The farm location is now also home to the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire (www.washingtonfaire.com), held the first three full weekends in August, and a very unique Cyclocross event the first weekend in November (www.seattlecyclocross.com).
The “stalk” market has since yielded back an incredible return on investment as the partnership has watched this humble little business grow as strong and as tall as the stalks that attract patrons each fall.
A-Mazing Mishap
But it was very close to not happening, Maris remembers, after a little mishap during the trail carving of that first maze back in 2000. As he began carving that first pathway, the design instructions he had in his hands fell directly into the path of the lawn mower he was using to cut out the trail. And as the shreds of paper landed beside him in the knee-high field of cornstalks, he took a deep breath, called his maze designer and asked for another set of design instructions to be sent overnight.
“I knew it (this business) could be big, but I didn’t have a lot of hope after shredding that first set of design instructions,” Maris said. “Once the season got started though, and people were actually showing up to go through this thing, I realized we had something special.”
Part of The MAiZE Group Farmers
Maris Farms is part of a larger organization known as The MAiZE , which has more than 200 mazes in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. Each MAiZE affiliate offers its own form of “agritainment” in its marketplace but the group shares ideas and advice in the areas of marketing/promotions, employee training, accounting, farming, maze cutting and several other areas necessary for a successful agritainment business. There is also instant name recognition and credibility connected to this organization. Since the introduction of its first location in 1996, MAiZE sites have drawn millions of visitors. Making a name for itself, The MAiZE has attracted the attention of newspapers, television and radio stations across the country-among them: Paul Harvey News, CNN, USA Today, The Today Show, Progressive Farmer, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic and Family Circle.
Locally, Maris Farms has been featured in the Enumclaw/Bonney Lake/Sumner Courier Heralds, The (Tacoma) News Tribune, Seattle Times, Seattle PI, KOMO TV and KING 5’s Evening Magazine. Nationally, Maris Farms has had air time on National Public Radio and on MSNBC.com.
Radio partners KMPS and STAR 101.5 have been a staple with Maris Farms from the beginning and will both be back at the farm this season for live remotes. Dates for KMPS are tentatively scheduled for Friday, 10/8 and Saturday, 10/16; Dates for STAR 101.5 are still tbd. Stay updated with our calendar and the Twitterman reports!
Please contact us for information on group trips, or obtain driving directions for a visit to the corn maze, pumpkin patch and/or haunted woods. Please check www.marisfarms.com or call 888-235-5439 for other event dates and times. Maris Farms is located in scenic east Pierce County about 3 miles west of Buckley, Washington, at 24713 Sumner-Buckley Highway.
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