ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Eliada’s annual Corn Maze will return this fall, giving families a chance to navigate an 8-acre maze and enjoy a variety of fall activities.

The maze is scheduled to open Sept. 26 and run through Nov. 1 at Eliada Homes on Compton Drive in Asheville.

The maze will be open from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Admission is $15 for adults and youth ages 3-17. Children ages 3 and younger are free, according to Eliada’s event information.

Visitors can take part in tractor rides, corn cannons, tube slides, a spider climber, lawn games and a children’s straw mini-maze.

Food trucks and concessions will be available during maze hours. Eliada encourages visitors to check its social media calendar for the food truck schedule.

Music for the maze

As Eliada Corn Maze approaches two decades of fall fun, it still has new attractions to debut. For the first time ever, the event will feature live music.

“One of the things we’re doing is we’re inviting Americana, and bluegrass and acoustic country bands,” said Andrew D’Onofrio, Eliada president and CEO. “They are gonna come out on Friday nights and perform for whoever shows up, and that’s something that we haven’t done in the past. It’s gonna be cool.”

There are three acts slated to perform:

  • Melissa McKinney, whose band MAMA won the 2025 MerleFest Band Competition and placed second in the 2026 International Blues Challenge, will take the stage from 5-7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2.
  • Doss Church, an Americana and rock and roll act, will play a mix of originals and covers from 5-7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9.
  • The Tall Boys will bring rock, reggae and singer-songwriter music to the maze from 5-7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16.

Tall corn, big fundraiser

The festival and maze are the biggest fundraiser for Eliada every year, and a major draw for the public. Around 11,000 guests, between daily visitors, school field trips and corporate groups, visited the maze in 2025.

“Last year, we netted $118,000, which is huge for us,” said D’Onofrio.

Eliada sees over 200 kids between infancy and five years old on its campus every day, in addition to residential mental health services for youths ages 17-25, an operational farm, youth training services for kids coming out of foster care and more.

The Eliada Corn Maze generates around 10% of funding for the nonprofit, which is “significant, and it helps carry us through the year,” D’Onofrio said.

According to D’Onofrio, between Tropical Storm Helene, which canceled the corn maze in 2024 and had a major financial impact on Eliada operations, and rising costs, it has been more challenging than ever to run the nonprofit.

“The times are tougher for the past couple years than they have been recently, when it comes to the services that we provide, things that are happening in the federal government with Medicaid cuts and grant cuts and the cost of everything going up. Gas, services, electricity, food, you know, all of that stuff contributes to our cost of running,” D’Onofrio said. “So, it’s particularly important right now for us to really maximize these fundraising opportunities like the corn maze.”

For more information about Eliada services, visit www.eliada.org/services.

For tickets and more information about the Eliada Corn Maze, visit www.eliada.org/cornmaze.