For nine summers in a row, Wiesja Dijkstra (62) conjures up a colorful maze full of activities and surprises on the Keuningsweg in the Groningen village of De Wilp. It actually started as “a trial,” says Dijkstra. The farm where she lives, once her parental home, looks out on a corn field. And suddenly Dijkstra saw more in that.
And so happened. The field will be sown at the end of May, and as soon as the corn rises, Dijkstra starts working. Then the practical implementation of the plans she has collected all winter. She works in a high school and during her summer vacation the Doolhof is open daily; Only at temperatures above 28 degrees and persistent heavy rain does it stay closed. “It is really six weeks and then it is over again,” said Dijkstra.
You can certainly get lost in the maze; The maize stalks are so high that no one stands out above the field and the paths are disorienting enough to make many a visitor stand on a dead end, including the undersigned. The chattering of other visitors sounds around you, but they are enough at a distance to imagine you.
This year’s theme is ‘birthday’, so the maze is extra festive. But before you can celebrate your birthday, you must of course be born first. The adventure therefore starts on the love path, which leads to a huge womb. Visitors can by shuffling with rusks with mice determine which gender their hypothetical descendants will get.
And then it’s time for the birthday parties. Twelve, one for every constellation. A sleeping party, a visit to the zoo, a horror park, a karaoke bar and a sandbox, all with accompanying games.
Dijkstra also focuses on an older audience. For example, she announces a real ‘mindfuck’ on the website – that is realized – and there is a clogged output, of which you can puzzle the location together by means of instructions.
Yet the riddles and the strategy that lead you to the secret exit are not spent on everyone, says Dijkstra. “There are hordes of people who do not read the rules well; sometimes they stop after the third rule, when the information board is found at all.” At the same time, according to Dijkstra, there are plenty of people who come back to find the secret exit. In total, if you visit all the parties, a visit can take two to three hours. That is why there is also an ’emergency exit’, so that visitors can stop their search whenever they want.
The Postma family from Drachten – father Ancel (38), mother Inge (36), Levi (6) and Chloe (4) – is criss -crossing the assignments and games in the maze. Their son has autism, following the entire course is not spent on him. “We mainly walk around,” says Inge. In this way, Levi is not bothered by the excess of impressions. According to his father, he is ‘nice and zen’.
The corn field from Dijkstra’s youth is now an “artistic expression.” Everything has been thought about, you will find colorful altakes or crafted jokes every once in a while. And that is not strange: “making beautiful things” is Dijkstra’s hobby. The maze reminds her of the plays she wrote earlier: “If you write a play, you write the role of a player. Here I make the decor. But my thoughts are with the players: the little ones, the elderly, of all ages. In my head I walk through the maze to shape their experience. So I create a backdrop of experience.”
Corndooholf de Wilp
Photos Sake Elzinga
