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The fall events at Castle Hill Farm, which wound down last weekend, also included live music by local musician Billy Michaels, private parties, pony rides, bonfires and a petting zoo.
“Our kickoff was the Ukrainian festival with 500 to 600 people,” said Diana Paproski, who owns Castle Hill Farm with her husband, Steve. “There was Ukrainian food, dance and the corn maze was open.”
The event has steadily grown each year, daily drawing hundreds of people from Newtown and throughout the state. Paproski credits using Facebook to help spread the word about the autumn fun in the hills of Newtown.
“We have grown because of the needs of the people. My husband’s goal is just to make people happy. We are definitely a family event. We are small, not commercial and we like the family atmosphere,” Paproski said.
“We began this about 25 to 28 years ago. We started across the street in a little maze area.”
The 100-acre farm housing a retired dairy farm has operated under four generations of the Paproski family.
Formerly the second-largest dairy producer in the Fairfield County, the family sold their cows nine years ago to diversify toward agritourism.
Daughters Stephanie and Shannon Paproski shaped the 8-acre corn maze without using a GPS. They cut the 2015 pattern using a Scag lawn mower to create the 30- to 40-minute walk.
“The design always relates to something in the year. This year, Stephanie got married, so the idea became a wedding theme,” Paproski said.
The maze included the words “I Do,” a wedding ring and an outline of a bride and groom.
The Paproski family will hold their next affair on Nov. 27 to Dec. 24, selling Christmas trees and wreaths.
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