It was fun getting lost in Eliada Home’s corn maze, open each weekend in October on the grounds of the century-old children’s home. This year’s maze, “Fields of Fun,” featured Eliada’s historic barn surrounded by farm animals.

“Eliada’s annual corn maze has become our biggest and most important fund-raiser,” said Eliada CEO Mark Upright. “It’s good, wholesome family fun, so it’s truly been a great fit for us as an organization.” Last year’s maze attracted nearly 10,000 people.

Find your way through 12 acres of twisting trails of the maze, which offers two levels of difficulty. Thrill-seeking adults and older children will enjoy the new “Field of Screams,” a separate field of corn for the haunted maze.

This season brought back the popular hay bale maze for toddlers and adds the new corn box where kids played in the giant sandbox filled with corn kernels. Other new additions included corn cannons, a pumpkin house, slack line challenge, pedal carts, and a cow train (a barrel train pulled by a tractor with cars painted to look like cows).

Eliada needs almost 400 volunteers to make the event a success. Volunteers serve for three-hour shifts and perform jobs like helping in the concession stand, supervising the pedal carts, and acting as guides. Each volunteer receives two free tickets, a small snack, and a big thank you. Visit the volunteer page at fieldsoffun.org to sign up.

Eliada is a 107-year-old nonprofit agency serving North Carolina’s children and families. Founded in 1903 by Dr. Lucius B. Compton as a home for women and children, Eliada provides accredited child development services, residential and day treatment for children and adolescents, in-home services, foster care, and more.

For more information about Eliada’s annual corn maze, visit fieldsoffun.org or call 828.254.5356 x 156. You may also email cashworth@eliada.org. Eliada Home is located at 2 Compton Drive.