Blue Rodeo, a band that’s etched itself into Canadian music culture and history, is now literally etched into a corn maze in New Brunswick. The idea sprouted when Shelley and Chip Hunter realized the band is marking its 40th anniversary tour this year. “I’ve been a fan ever since I can remember,” said Chip of Hunter Brothers Farm. “I remember listening to them in my tractor. Someone gave me a tape.” His wife Shelley and brother Tom are also longtime fans. The family has been transforming their six-acre cornfield in Florenceville into elaborate mazes for 25 years, often celebrating slices of Canadiana, including the Toronto Blue Jays, Terry Fox, Stan Rogers, and Gordon Lightfoot. This year’s maze features the faces of Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, along with the band’s name and a giant 40 to mark the big anniversary. So far, Chip said, the response has been tremendous. “I think we’re about to break our record for attendance here,” he said, wearing a themed T-shirt that goes with the theme and reads “Not My First Rodeo.” Jim Cuddy spoke with CTV News from Edmonton while on tour and called the tribute a huge honour. “I think it’s an amazing endeavour that they do every year,” he said. “It’s beautiful. I mean, we just saw pictures of it a couple of days ago, and it’s truly amazing. Beautiful.” Visitors wandering the maze might get lost and possibly start singing Blue Rodeo’s classic “Lost together.” The maze features not just a labyrinth of paths, but also trivia questions about the band. Some include QR codes that link to YouTube videos, letting people hear the songs as they navigate the field. “That’s incredible. I’m sure I can answer the trivia questions,” Cuddy joked. Absolutely but we had to ask --- would Cuddy get lost in the maze? “No, frankly, I probably could find my way out,” he said, laughing. “I think that there’s others in the band, and I won’t mention them, who probably would be asking management to send somebody to help them.” Transforming the field into a maze is a multi-step process. Once the family decides on a theme, a graphic designer draws up a sketch. Then an engineer plots GPS coordinates for the design and the field is prepared and planted. Surveyors then lay out exactly where the crew needs to remove the corn to make the paths to create the design. “We’ve gotten some really fantastic mazes out of that process,” said Shelley Hunter. “We just like to see families out enjoying time with each other.” Cuddy is encouraging fans to check it out, with one request. “Don’t deface our faces,” he said. The maze is open until Oct. 26, 2025.
