CORINNA, Maine — In the heart of rural Maine, Cooper Flagg’s journey from a small-town kid to a rising basketball superstar is now etched into the landscape—literally. At Thunder Road Farm in the town of Corinna, just a few miles from Flagg’s hometown of Newport, a corn maze tribute has taken shape to honor the Dallas Mavericks’ newest draft pick. But this isn’t your average maze. It’s a carefully designed homage, built with the help of Flagg’s family and friends.
“Cooper inspires the crowd at Duke or anywhere when he gets an open dunk and brings the crowd to life,” Thunder Road Farm co-owner Charlie Peavey said, standing outside the maze. “That’s what he’s kind of known for, so that’s what we wanted to do the design of.” The image spans a 5-acre maze that’s made up of nearly 800 rows of corn, according to Peavey. He says the design took months of collaboration between his family and the Flaggs—especially Cooper’s mother, Kelley.
“Oh, they’re thrilled,” Peavey shared. “She’s [Kelley] been so much help to design what parts she wanted on it, and it’s been great to work with them.”
Inscribed into the maze is also Cooper’s nickname: The Maine Event’ It’s an addition that Peavey’s son Kellen came up with to honor his friend, whom he remembers playing middle school basketball with and picking peas alongside.
“To be able to help design a kid that I’ve grown up and played with, to honor him and all of his incredible success, seeing him do things that nobody has done for Maine before, it’s incredible,” Kellen explained while walking through the maze. To bring the image to life, the farm partnered with Utah-based company The MAiZE, which used image-mapping software to lay out the intricate design.
“We draw the design out and transpose it over a grid,” Brett Herbst, owner of The MAiZE, said. “That grid lines up with the grid in the field that’s created when the farmer plants.” From there, Herbst and his team painted along the gridded field and followed those lines with a precision lawn mower.
“We like to cut it when the corn is still short, so you can see the grid on the ground clearly,” Herbst added. Even with the design all cut, the Peaveys and their crew are still hard at work under the summer sun, trimming paths and moving rocks to keep them in tip top shape.
“Knowing the Flagg’s personally, we are probably putting our most effort into this maze that we ever had,” Charlie Peavey said. The Peaveys are also working on a series of 10 Cooper Flagg-themed questions that will be found throughout the maze.
“You have to guess the answer and whatever answer you choose, it will tell you to go right or left,” Thunder Road Farm co-owner Barbara Peavey explained. “That will either help you or hurt you while you’re finding your way out.” While the work may be tough and the weather may be hot, the Peaveys say it’ll all be worth it when people—especially young fans of Flagg—can walk through the fields that shaped a star.
“All these people, all these little kids who idolize Cooper—they’re going to be able to come out here, walk through him, and play. It’s going to be great to see,” Kellen Peavey said. Farm staff say the maze will open Sept. 13 through Oct. 26. They are also planning a raffle fundraiser during the maze season, with proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which is a cause near to the Flagg family.
