The corn that will be the Amazing Maize Maze is only beginning to break ground at Cherry-Crest Farms in Strasburg.

Nevertheless, the award-winning agritainment facility will open its gates to the public on Saturday.

Obviously, the five-acre maze won't be ready. (It opens July 7.)

But a barnyard full of animals and other entertaining, educational and just plain fun stuff awaits families who come to the weekly, pre-season "Meet the Farm Babies" days beginning this weekend.

Ten acres of Lancaster County farmland has been devoted to making on-the-farm memories at Cherry-Crest, through craft making, contests, wagon rides, animal displays, little mazes and a host of other activities.

Those 10 acres rarely get the attention they deserve, according to Rudy Kilgore, who has been farm manager for the last decade.

When the maze opened in 1996, it was just that. A great and amazing maze made of corn. The only other things offered were a petting zoo, wagon ride and a small maze.

About six years later, the folks there decided to make the facility more than just a maze. They wanted to give visitors more of a well-rounded farm experience.

"The challenge came after we had made that decision," Kilgore says. "We had to try to become known as more than just the Amazing Maize Maze. It's been difficult to reinvent yourselves in people's minds."

What better way to let people know how much there is to do on the property, than to open it before the maze corn is even knee-high to... let's say a baby goat.

Who doesn't love a soft, cuddly, cute baby animal? And this time of year there are lots of them.

Every Saturday through June 30, the public will have the opportunity to meet a different farm baby each week. Special programs (at 1 and 3 p.m.) will be presented by a retired farmer, who knows of such stuff.

The first baby to greet the public is Bruno, the baby calf.

Future animals to meet are Daisy, the lamb (June 2); Kidder, the goat (June 9); Quacker, the duck (June 16); Fluffy, the bunny (June 23); and Brewster the pig.

Visitors will also the among the first to see and try out the "Barnyard Jump," a 40-foot by 70-foot jumping pillow.

"It's along the lines of a trampoline only not dangerous like trampolines can be," says Kilgore.

"It's great for kids to blow off some steam," adds Cathy Kornfield, the appropriately named public relations person for Cherry Crest.

But what exactly can people do at Cherry-Crest Farms before the opening of the star attraction?

Plenty.

The property is divided up between The Courtyard and The Barnyard.

Visitors in the courtyard will meet resident animals, including the inhabitants of Daffy's Duck Deck (complete with blue plastic wading pool), Chicken Run and the nearby walk-thru chicken coop, The Two Little Pigs' House and Bunnyville, complete with a shingled and charmingly painted hutch.

On one side of The Courtyard, children (and adults) can visit with a llama and sheep. In a separate area, pygmy goats are able to climb up "Goat Mountain," a steel contraption the climbers love. Visitors can get in on the action by using a conveyer belt to send goat food up to the top of the mountain, where it rings a bell to call someone to dinner.

On the far side of The Courtyard, adult goats enjoy nibbling on their grassy area.

In the corner, the Cherry-Crest Farm Express offers a "train" ride through the countryside. Or if you'd rather see more of this working 175-acre farm, you can take the 10-minute farm tour wagon ride that takes folks beyond the agritainment area.

Walk a bit farther and cross over the Strasburg Rail Road's train tracks, and you've entered The Barnyard.

Pumpkin tossing (they'll use tennis balls for the pre-season event), a Giant Hay Chute Slide, (90 feet of fun in a tube), and the Singing Chicken Show with colorful animatronic stars are just some of what awaits.

The new Barnyard Jump is here, as well as an area just for the littlest visitors. The Little Farmers Playground is a fenced-in area with safe activities for tykes. Sand boxes, a coloring barn and a playhouse are among its amenities.

There are several small mazes, crafts activities and other fun in store at Cherry-Crest, too. But the atmosphere on the farm heightens the overall enjoyment of it.

"When people come here they experience a way of life that may be foreign to them," says Kilgore who adds that it's not uncommon for him to hear from visitors that their day at Cherry-Crest topped their vacation at Disney. "We hear that often," he says.

Of the new pre-season events, he says, "springtime on the farm is a time of rebirth and growth. It's a neat time. You have the opportunity to experience the farm with less hustle and bustle. It's a more intimate experience."

CONTACT US: kdaminger@LNPnews.com or 481-6015