Have you heard about the annual corn maze created at the Youth Farm Bible Camp at Rosthern every fall? Well, how about the Snow Edition? The people at YFBC were inspired to make the most of the surprising amount of snow that fell during the November 2020 storm and began to create the snow maze. In a year rife with cancellations and lost opportunities to partake in events, a new family fun activity was launched that celebrates winter and the great outdoors.
The snow maze opened in January and is open Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. until the middle of March. Tickets must be purchased in advance and there is a restriction on the number of people permitted each hour, so the organizers recommend you book early so you don’t miss your chance. As of this writing there are only six more days of operation before the maze will be closed for the season. Each ticket is $10 + GST = $10.50 and while children two years of age and under do not require a ticket everyone else does.
The maze took six weeks to construct. Snow was gathered from every corner of the farm’s yard and moved adjacent to the remains of the corn maze. The result is eight foot high walls that allow visitors to wander, look for items scattered throughout the maze and do something completely different this winter. On the nicer days some of the petting zoo animals will be out and about for families to enjoy and of course you can take a quick look at what the corn maze looks like in the winter. People should be sure to take the opportunity to visit the snow maze because there is no guarantee that next winter will have enough snow to recreate the Snow Edition of the famous maze.
The corn maze has been an annual favourite fundraiser at YFBC since 2008. Constructed on eight acres that makes for 348,480 square feet of mazes! There is a family friendly ‘Small Stalks’ maze which is designed for younger guests that is shorter and is guided. The ‘Crazy Cobbler’ maze takes up six of the total eight acres and is designed to challenge the advanced mazers! From the ground the intricacy of the designs of the maze can not be appreciated but aerial photos show the incredible amount of work that have gone into the designs in the past five years where they now reflect the theme of the summer camps. And if you think the corn maze is all there is to do at YFBC, think again. There is also a petting zoo, hay wagon rides, a climbing wall, giant jumping pillow, a corn pit, and so much more. The activities at the Farm are designed with families in mind. Parents and kids from young to old will find that every activity has differing levels which allows for full family participation. During the fall corn maze there is also a food booth open to feed those hungry stomachs after conquering the maze. With the Snow Edition people can purchase s’mores to make over the open fire, play frozen pumpkin bowling, snow horse shoes, and “walk through the biggest snow structure you have ever seen”. (Youth Farm Corn Maze Facebook)
There have been several changes at the Farm in the last ten years. In 2011, the Eigenheim Church donated their former building to the camp. The 3500 square foot building was moved onto site and placed on its newly constructed basement on June 1, 2011. The church functions as the chapel during camps and also houses the offices of YFBC. Three suites complete with washrooms were located in the basement, as well as separate modern bathrooms including a wheelchair accessible washroom complete with a shower, and three multipurpose rooms and a café.
Then in 2014, the farm received a barn. Back in the 1950’s there were nine red barns on site, but over the years the barns were slowly removed as there was no longer any need for them. The last barn to remain on the site was the Dairy Barn, which sadly burned to the ground in 1987. The Board of YFBC longed to return a barn to the farm either by building one or moving one in and on February 4, 2014 that very thing occurred and a new “old red barn” provides shelter to the stars of the petting zoo. Since that day more changes have transpired at the Farm. In 2017-2018, an indoor riding arena was constructed at the south end of the yard and a year round staff member was hired to run the horsemanship program. The Valley Equestrian Centre offers lessons in both western and English riding disciplines, a full hunter and jumper course, a small cross country course, and dressage arenas. They also offer an equine-assisted learning program, a form of personal development whereby the horses are the teachers. Horses give immediate feedback and cannot lie and therefore the participants receive in real-time specific and honest feedback on their actions. Horses demand strong leadership and clear communication and in the EAL environment this leads the participant to use introspection to discover what they need to change. The self-realization that comes through the process is unrivaled and effective with all age levels from children and youth to corporate leaders.
During 2020 all youth camps had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 with the exception of the horse day camps, but YFBC continued to reach out to youth who might have been coming to the farm for the camps and their families through weekly video events on their Facebook page. There they shared news about what was happening on the farm with the petting zoo animals and the horse program, and they also shared messages, crafts and songs that they would have normally shared during their camps.
As we start thinking ahead to the summer of 2021, it is not an exaggeration to say that everyone wishes that this year can be a year where once again we are able to partake in the many activities and events that had to be cancelled in 2020. The staff and Board of YFBC, long for that as well and hope that once again the Farm will be filled with the sounds of children enjoying summer camp and all that it has to offer.
