by Ashley Watts, Sports Editor
Bradt’s Menagerie, located three miles west of Alva on Highway 11, has many different attractions for a person to experience. One attraction in particular is only offered during the fall season.
The menagerie started seven years ago with a petting zoo, and the hay maze became a popular attraction there five years ago.
“We added the hay maze to add another attraction for people to come for,” said JoDe Bradt, one of the menagerie’s part-owners.
For one night during the fall semester, the Northwestern Student Government Association pays for all students with a valid Northwestern identification card to come out and find their way through the maze. The organization sponsored this event Oct. 21, and multiple students took advantage of it.
According to the menagerie’s owners, many people come to the maze each night that it is open. The SGA’s student night and the nights of Northwestern’s homecoming celebrations are their “biggest” nights.
“My favorite part of the maze is building it,” said Jerad Bradt, one of the menagerie’s part-owners.
It takes a week to haul in all of the hay needed, and it takes three day to put the maze together. Jerad Bradt comes up with the design of the maze, and he puts it all together on paper before setting it up.
The maze is composed of 1,100 bales, with each weighing approximately 1,600 lbs.
On normal nights, nine rubber stamps, each resembling a different kind of animal, are hidden in different places throughout the maze. Those who collect all nine are eligible to roll a dice to win a prize. These prizes range from free drinks to a free camel ride.
But on the nights of the haunted maze, there is a surprise addition.
On a few nights during the fall season, not only are there stamps to collect – there are also scary characters spread throughout the maze to scare people.
The characters are allowed to scare you, but they are not allowed to touch you or harm you in anyway, according to the owners. During the haunted maze, the owners play scary music and have multi-colored flashing lights around for people to see where they are going.
“We get volunteers to be characters, and then we hand-pick them from there,” said JoDe Bradt.
The hay maze is open from early fall to Thanksgiving weekend, and the haunted maze is open Oct. 26, Oct. 31, Nov. 1, and Nov. 2.
The petting zoo is open March through November of each year. The menagerie also has outdoor laser-tag, which is open year-round by appointment and during the company’s regular business hours. In the winter, the menagerie puts together a live nativity with people riding camels.
For more information, contact the menagerie at (580) 430-1269.