The Grand labyrinth Kamouraska, in La Pocatière, has finally obtained the Guinness record for the largest traditional corn maze, three years after its first attempt.
“This is a real achievement for us! We hoped for it, but we hardly believed in it anymore. We knew we had good competition! says Luc Pelletier, the instigator of the project.
Its seasonal maze cut in a cornfield of more than 266,000 square meters and equipped with 21 km long paths was recognized on Tuesday by the famous organization which has been keeping records since 1955.
Courtesy picture
Its creator, Luc Pelletier, happy to finally hold a record
This year, its closest competitor was the one located at Stoney Brook Farms in Foley, Minnesota. And with an area almost twice the size of Kamouraska, it seemed in good shape to win the honours.
“But it didn’t meet some very strict Guinness Records criteria,” says Pelletier, referring to trails that weren’t always the same size, sometimes too wide, and didn’t have enough dead ends. bag.
Worldwide recognition
After initially failing to make it into the famed book in 2019, the man wanted to make sure he did things the right way this year. For more than two months, he pulled up miles of corn by hand, with his wife and daughters.
“I told myself that to have a record, it had to hurt a little. And it was! he says, laughing.
If Luc Pelletier embarked on this ambitious project that he had coveted since 2016, it was because he wanted to “leave his mark in the world and bequeath something to his daughters”. But also so that we recognize his small town, La Pocatière, internationally.
“This week, there is an article which appeared in France which speaks of our labyrinth. To be able to shine like that, it really warms my heart! he exults.
Always bigger
Since the very first edition, in 2016, Luc Pelletier estimates that more than 100,000 “lost people” have visited his work located along Route 132. Although he does not yet have the exact data, he is convinced that it received more visitors than ever this year.
A traffic that is likely to increase again next year, he believes, when he will try again to beat the area record he has just broken.
“A record is made to be beaten, we are condemned to expand! says the father, who is aiming for 283,000 square meters next year, with a brand new plan.