About The Fall Festival & Corn Maze

In 2009 we took a leap of faith and pursued our first corn maze. Through the hard work of our team and the amazing support of the community, the Fall Festival & Corn Maze was born. Each year we work hard to refine and improve.

Our Fall Festival & Corn Maze is designed for families to enjoy together. With over a dozen attractions along with our themed corn maze, families typically spend the whole day at West End Creamery. Our food truck and concessions area are available to keep everyone full and happy! 

The design for the corn maze changes every year and has included in past years:

Harvesting Memories
New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association
VOTE 2012
In God We Trust
West End Creamery's 15 Year Anniversary
Celebrate First Responders
Peanuts (Snoopy)
#rogerthat Corn Maze

Further inquires can be directed to:

Owen Cooper
contact@westendcreamery.com

About West End Creamery

Greg VandenAkker's family has been cultivating this patch of land on the west end of Whitinsville, MA for over 100 years.  Things have changed a bit over the years, but the family values have stayed the same—to care for the land entrusted to us by God.  

It all started with a flock of chickens raised by Great-grandpa Meindert VandenAkker, changed to a small herd of Holstein cows milked by Grandpa Joe VandenAkker for his small milk route (West End Dairy), and then grew to a 200-acre retail and wholesale dairy run by Uncle Mike and Dad George VandenAkker.  Greg did not want to continue dairying, however he did want to preserve the family farming heritage on this beautiful setting, so he purchased a few acres from the family and started dreaming.  He shared that dream with a young first grade teacher who he had his eye on, and two years later, Greg and Becky VandenAkker began plans to open an ice cream shop on the family land.  

In June of 1999, the doors of West End Creamery opened to a community who had been eagerly anticipating that day.  We couldn’t have done it without the help and support of our families and team members.  Greg’s dream had become a reality!  He wanted to preserve the family land and, at the same time, create a place where families could come and enjoy some time together.  Even now, 18 seasons later, it’s still such a joy for us to see families sitting together on the lawn, young couples out on a date, and grandparents sharing a cone with their grandchildren.  However, never did we expect how popular that hill would be to roll down!

Six years later, we decided to expand the business by adding a miniature golf course—a “garden course” to fit with our beautiful surrounding farmland.  So, with 3 little daughters in tow, we set out to explore various golf courses to help us decide what features we wanted to include.  The result, we believe, celebrates both the rich history of our Blackstone River Valley as well as our own family farming heritage.  We have babbling streams and waterways, frog ponds, a working grist mill, antique farm machinery, and gardens galore!  Come try it out on a beautiful early summer evening and you’ll likely hear the little peepers chirping their symphony!

Several years later, Greg knew again that we needed to do something to help us pay for and preserve the farm, so we talked through and explored various options.  Do we grow Christmas trees?  What about a family fun park with batting cages and go karts?  A bed and breakfast?  No, nothing seemed to fit, until we visited a corn maze and “adventure farm” in Pennsylvania.  Then we said, “Yes, this is it!  This plan maintains the farm and also helps us to share the land with our guests.  It will be a wholesome place for families and friends to spend the day outdoors, unplugged, and creating memories!”  So in the spring of 2009, we tilled up a large hay field and planted rows and rows of corn!  We partnered with The MAiZE company from Utah to cut our maze design, we installed the jumping pillows and a whole bunch of other fun activities, and our Fall Festival was born.  We’ve been tweaking it for several years now—to add many new activities and to accommodate increasing numbers of guests.  Come check it out this fall and help us help you create fun family memories!

As we reflect on the past 18 seasons, we are thankful to God for bringing us through both the difficult times as well as the great times.  We love to greet our guests at the beginning of a new season and are sad to say farewell at the close of another one.  We thank you for allowing us to be a part of your family story, just as you’ve helped to shape ours. 

Blessings,
Greg and Becky and girls