While fall traditions in El Paso can be difficult to come across as the city doesn’t get a big feel of “the fall aesthetic,” but there is always one place El Pasoans can look forward to, La Union Maze.
Opening for their 26th season, La Union Maze is a family friendly experience, with a pumpkin patch, slides, playgrounds, pedal cars, a mini flower maze, animal farms and pig races.
Omar Cuellar, a manager for La Union Maze, works diligently making sure their team can meet the expectations of every visitor waiting for the maze to open for the season.
“Every year we try and grow more and more so we do see that increase and we do our best to accommodate it because we know what this place means to people, and we’re excited that it’s a place that people can come visit, it’s different from anywhere else here on the border,” Cuellar said. “But we try to make it super family friendly for everybody and we do get a lot of visitors, but we try to meet that by growing ourselves.”
With discounts like their opening weekend’s military and first responder’s discount, Brittainy Migowski and her daughter were able to enter with friends at an affordable price for them.
“I think it’s something fun to do in the fall for families and kids, and they make it really affordable especially with this weekend being 50% off,” Migowski said. “It was a lot of fun for kids; there’s a lot to do out here.”
Daniela Pérez, a mother attending the maze with her children and friends is a yearly attendee and enjoys the traditional pumpkin patch visit.
“Me gusta mucho, cada año venimos con los niños y la verdad que nos diveritmos bastante,” Perez said. “Venimos incluso varias veces durante la temporada y yo veo que es igual cada año pero la comida es muy rica y las actividades son divertidas.”
This year, La Union was able to achieve the making of their “Sesame Street” themed maze, working with “The MAiZE inc.”, an organization of corn mazes around the United States.
“I was really excited when we found out that our theme was Sesame Street, I think we all grew up on Plaza Sésamo, so when they told us I was beyond excited,” Cuellar said. “The design is very intricate, so I was feeling excited. Very nostalgic.”
Creating a fun and family friendly environment is a goal for the employees at La Union, as they even have a staff member dressed up in a corn cob costume to MC the pig races for the kids and adults to enjoy.
“Having a place where people can have a place to escape and hang out with their families, there aren’t that many kid friendly, family friendly places for everybody, so I think that is always a big focus for us,” Cuellar said. “This is a place where you can come with your abuelita, your nieces and nephews, it’s for everyone to enjoy.”
Nostalgia is a key factor for most attendees at La Union Maze and as families continue to frequent the event, tradition ensues. La Union Maze has many activities for families to enjoy and is open to the public until Nov. 2.
Abigail Pedroza is the arts & culture editor for The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected]
