Sever's Fall Festival brings family fun to Shakopee

Shakopee Valley News

Those looking for an adventure down under this fall can look no further than Sever’s Fall Festival near Canterbury Park.

The theme for the festival is “Sever’s Down Under” and features a massive corn maze with an Australian design, complete with kangaroos.

“It was just something that we thought was interesting that not many people get to visit Australia necessarily, so we thought we’d bring Australia here,” said Nicola Peterson, who helps orchestrate the festival.

Sever’s Fall Festival is in its 20th year of operation and has grown from a corn maze to a full-blown, all-day adventure. The festival now has a corn pit, zip line, jumping pillows, magic shows, live music, pig races, exotic petting zoo, low-ropes obstacle course, a parakeet tent, a giant slide and on and on.

“We have a lot of families that get here literally when we open ... and they don’t leave until we close, so you can spend all day with us,” Peterson said.

The festival started out as a small family business and has grown exponentially, but remained in house, which creates an atmosphere for all to enjoy, Peterson said.

“You could be 89, 49 or 9 and have a great time here,” she said.

The festival is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 8 through Oct. 29 and open one Thursday, on Oct. 19.

37 thoughts I had while doing Sever's Fall Festival corn maze

To start off, there's some things you should know. On the day of the maze, I had some meetings in the morning and so I wasn't wearing very maze-appropriate attire, namely a dress and high-heeled boots. But it didn't stop Wonder Woman and so it wasn't going to stop me either.

Additionally, I'm not a person who knows cardinal directions or really has any sense of direction at all. I've lived in Minnesota for upwards of three months now and still sometimes use GPS to get home from work and vice versa, a route I take 10 times a week. I probably know the map of Westeros better than I do one of the Twin Cities area. It's sad, I know, but this is what I have learned to live with.

One last thing — Sever's Fall Festival was not quite done setting up by the time I came out to write about it and usually has signs people can track on their maps of the maze to see where they are and try to find all the signs. The signs were not up yet.

Without further ado, 37 thoughts I had while completing Sever's Fall Festival corn maze.

1. Definitely wearing the wrong shoes.

2. There are some tractor marks which might lead to where I need to go.

3. That would make this a lot easier. 

4. I grew up in Iowa so I'm not unfamiliar with corn, but this is a lot bigger than the ones I've done.

5. I don't know how I got here. 

6. Festival organizer Nicola Peterson made sure I had her phone number before I went in here, so I don't know that she has a ton of faith in me.

7. I'm going off the tractor path.

8. There's someone else in the maze!

9. Children of the Corn!

10. It's a worker, false alarm.

11. I think I'm at the apostrophe in "Sever's." 

12. I'm pretty sure it's the apostrophe.

13. I'm a navigation genius.

14. Never mind, I don't think it's the apostrophe.

15. It might be broad daylight but doing a corn maze by yourself is still creepy.

16. I don't know where I'm at. 

17. Oh! A sign!

18. It's from 2016. 

19. Was that a footstep? 

20. Hello?

21. I've never questioned corn mazes but they probably seem weird to other cultures. 

22. A pen would have been helpful.

23. I want corn on the cob.

24. I think I am at the top of Australia. 

25. Oooh, I think I know what that is!

26. Never mind, there's a lot of parts that look like that on the map.

27. I'm trying not to think about how many spiders live in here.

28. Of course, now that I've mentioned it, I'm thinking about it.

29. They're probably everywhere.

30. I can no longer go forward, so I must go left. 

31. I think I am slowly but surely making my way toward the front.

32. Oh, I was wrong.

33. I believe I've done it!

34. I've made it to the bridge!

35. I completed the maze!

36. Navigation genius!

37. Corn maze master!