MILTON — Sonshine Family Farm has opened its fall maze, pumpkin patch and playground area for the fifth year.
With help from his family and Maize Quest, which designed the layout of the eight and a half acre maze, Vernon Borders is raising funds for Autism Pensacola along with recognizing a local hockey team.
Here are five things to know about the farm, which is open Saturdays and Sundays until Nov. 6:
1. Expect games within the maze. The children’s maze features a finger-coloring game. Other portions feature a word game and a picture find. Game sheets and an introductory video are available to help complete the tasks.
2. Proceeds benefit children in need. Ten percent of the profits will benefit Autism Pensacola. The nonprofit organization, which also provides services to Santa Rosa County, is dedicated to supporting, advocating, educating, networking for those affected with autism and other related disorders of behavior and communication.
3. The maze gets scary on Halloween. On Oct. 29, the Monster Maze comes alive. “We have people dressed in costume in the maze and have them frighten people as they go through,” Borders said. The maze will be open until midnight and will feature a costume contest around 8:30 p.m. In addition, live music at 8 p.m. will be provided along with free candy, he said. The monsters will invade the maze at 7 p.m.
4. There are activities outside the maze. Many attendees are already aware of the playground area for children including a miniature golf area, corn toss, a zip line, pony rides and hayrides. This year, Sonshine Family Farms will open a fishing pond containing catfish and brim. Fishing poles and bait will be provided.
5. Ice Flyers will make an appearance. “They seem to be a very good organization, they do a lot of good work for different charities,” Borders said, adding the players at some point will do a meet and greet at the event and display their recently won President’s Cup.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 5 things to know about Sonshine Family Farms' fall maze