MAIZE FIELD TO A-MAZE; FAMILY WALK-THROUGH-IT PUZZLE TO BE DEVELOPED ON FARMLAND IN CAMARILLO.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Daily News Staff Writer

A four-acre plot of dirt will soon sprout a maze of corn the likes of which the West Coast has never seen: two miles of brain-teasing pathways designed to bring game-playing to a new height.

A former entertainment-industry producer knows that if he builds it, they will come, as visitors have come to his Amazing Maize Maze installations that have cropped up around the country.

``It's cross-generational,'' said Don Frantz, president and creative director of The Amazing Maze Co., from his Manhattan office. ``Kids treat it like a great video game, and seniors like to walk through a cornfield like the one they grew up in.''

Corny? Who knows?

But it is likely to be welcome in a county where agriculture is still king.

``It seemed like an intriguing, interesting and different, unique type of environment,'' said Tony Prater, marketing manager for Pacific Earth Resources Inc., which commissioned Frantz to build the maze.

``We hope it will get people back to nature and (they will) learn something about the farming community. . . . It's actually an interactive type of maze with various learning centers as you go through it,'' Prater said.

Pacific Earth Resources is a Camarillo-based company owned by the Rogers family, whose ancestors started farming in the area a century ago. The company will plant the corn and use a 10-acre portion of its property for the project.

Planting is scheduled for April 19. And by mid-May, there should be about 100,000 stalks of corn as high as an elephant's eye - or, as Prater puts it, 6 feet to 8 feet tall at maturity.

Then, the handiwork will begin. The result won't be just a maze, because from a bird's-eye view, the field will take the shape of a California Mission.

When the maze opens June 26, the public will see what Frantz said many describe as an interactive, three-dimensional puzzle to be solved by players expected to pay $5 each for children 4 to 12 and $8 each for those 12 and older.

As they wade through the stalks, participants will collect puzzle pieces that will provide clues needed to navigate their way. The fastest will finish in about 30 minutes, and the rest will take about 1-1/2 hours to find their way out.

``It will also have theatrical elements with scripts and maps,'' Frantz said. ``Music will sweep through the four acres with 40 speakers (mounted) throughout the maze.''

Frantz, who grew up around farming and went on to produce theater shows for Disney, created the idea of The Amazing Maize Maze in 1993 in Pennsylvania. His idea became a 3.3-acre dinosaur maze at Lebanon Valley College and garnered the distinction of being called the world's largest maze ever built by the Guinness Book of Records.

``This started out as a family get-together,'' he said. ``I would do it on my vacation while working for the Disney company the last eight years.''

In the past year, his company has completed 13 mazes from New York to Iowa, including one depicting George Washington crossing the Delaware River in New Jersy.

``I think what we found was a way to make a trip to the farm not only accessible, but exciting,'' he said. ``It's a low-tech family outing where everybody feels comfortable.''

Frantz estimated it will take four days to create the maze in Camarillo - one day to design the landscape and three days to cut the stalks by hand.

He said he will have a clearer picture of the cost for the project in May.

Plans are to replant the field every year and etch a new art design through the rows of corn, he said. The corn will be harvested, but not for consumption.

Corn is not a major crop in Ventura County, but some is grown from spring through fall for sale at roadside stands and for shipping to supermarket chains. The maize maze crop shouldn't have trouble taking root, officials said.

Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner W. Earl McPhail was intrigued by the project.

``It's quite interesting,'' said McPhail, who's read about the mazes. ``I've never seen one, but it seems to be quite interesting, and people seem to really like walking the maze. I hope it succeeds.''

Early on, critics told Frantz his maze was too large and that people would die inside, but McPhail believes a corn maze would be safe.

``If anyone felt they were in trouble, they can walk through the corn and back into the field,'' McPhail said. ``So I don't see it as a problem.''

Co-sponsors of the project are working with farm groups, such as the California Foundation for Ag in the Classrooms, to develop educational aspects of the project, said Nancy Mayerson, a spokeswoman for the project.

Organizers say a journey through the maze could teach a range of skills - from elements of logic and math for schoolchildren to team-building for corporations as employees rely on each for clues to get out.

On the 10-acre site, six acres will be used for parking and vendors. Charity organizations will be able to rent the maze for fund-raising purposes.

``If you want a lot of fun with friends and family and want to know more about them,'' said Frantz, ``get them in a maze.''

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Map

MAP: Site of maize maze