A-maizing tribute: Cornfield maze in Lehi honors Archuleta

LEHI — "American Idol" star David Archuleta is bigger now than ever before — literally.

Covering 12 acres, Archuleta's likeness, along with the phrase "Archuleta 4 President," is cut into the cornfield at the 2008 Cornbelly's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Fest located at Thanksgiving Point.

During an election year, corn maze creator and The MAiZE founder, Brett Herbst, said his focus was initially turned to presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

"We really thought of Obama and McCain at first, but everyone we talked to was sick of the candidates," Herbst said. "Then we said, 'Let's do Archuleta."'

Herbst said they had to get permission from Archuleta's agent before going forward with the maze. Archuleta garnered more than 40 million votes while competing on "American Idol" earlier this year. Herbst said the corn maze was a good way to honor the Utah native's accomplishment. Maze visitors will have a chance to win an autographed copy of Archuleta's new self-titled album when it's released Nov. 11.

While he wasn't sure if Archuleta would be able to make it to the maze because of his schedule, Herbst said the young star hasn't ruled out a visit — at least he hasn't said no. In a statement from California, where he is working on his new album, Archuleta said he's seen a lot of things and had a lot of experiences because of "American Idol."

"It's great to have another special memory to add from my home state of Utah," he said.

Herbst said nearly 63,000 people visited his corn maze at Thanksgiving Point last year. A Brigham Young University graduate originally from Salmon, Idaho, Herbst grew up on a ranch and created his first corn maze in 1996. Since then he's designed more than 1,200 mazes in five countries. The largest company of its kind, The MAiZE is working with more than 200 different corn maze locations just this season.

"Some people thought it was just a fad," Herbst said. "But it's a tradition now and it's here to stay."

The corn maze opens Friday and will run through Nov. 1 from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. In addition to the corn maze, Cornbelly's offers 20 other attractions from hay rides to pumpkin picking.

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E-mail: jdavis@desnews.com

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