Portland Maize

Many traditional artists paint linen or sculpt stone. For an agri-artist such as Craig Easterly, though, a cornfield makes a perfectly good canvas. For more than a decade, Craig has been chiseling through the 12-foot stalks of his 5-acre field to create what is from the ground a maze of rustling green tunnels and from above a stunning tableau of Portland themes and images. "I like to create designs that resonate with Portlanders and our friends in the greater Portland area," he said in a 2011 press release. One year, his work cut the city's bridges and rivers into the corn; in another he incorporated the Portland Timbers insignia into his maze.

Many traditional artists paint linen or sculpt stone. For an agri-artist such as Craig Easterly, though, a cornfield makes a perfectly good canvas. For more than a decade, Craig has been chiseling through the 12-foot stalks of his 5-acre field to create what is from the ground a maze of rustling green tunnels and from above a stunning tableau of Portland themes and images. "I like to create designs that resonate with Portlanders and our friends in the greater Portland area," he said in a 2011 press release. One year, his work cut the city's bridges and rivers into the corn; in another he incorporated the Portland Timbers insignia into his maze.

Each fall, these Sauvie Island fields birth both Craig's famous corn maze and its evil twin, the Haunted Maize, which spooks its visitors at night with costumed actors and eerie animatronics. Along with its mazes, The Maize at The Pumpkin Patch also sprouts fall-centric family-friendly activities. Overall-clad patrons bounce along on free hayrides, get crowned king of the hay mountain, or mimic the beastly accents of farm animals in the big red barn.