Imagine a crisp autumn evening in the country with family and friends enjoying a campfire, good food and hayride along with the fun of finding twists, turns and exits to a 5-acre maze lined with tall sorghum stalks.

            The public is invited to have fun for a good cause at the Gordon Cooper Technology Center Homecoming, Picnic and Auction from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28 at the Mikles Family Farm north of Shawnee.Proceeds go to the Gordon Cooper Education Foundation to help students in need to stay in school.

            Individual tickets are $8 each or $30 for a family ticket including two adults and three children. Children under age 3 are free. To reserve a ticket, call GCTC staffer Anna Schilling at (405) 273-7493 ext. 2264.

            “I would like to invite all Gordon Cooper alumni, former faculty and staff and friends to come out and enjoy an evening of fellowship and fun to help raise money for the foundation,” event organizer GCTC Assistant Superintendent Mike Matlock said.

            The ticket price includes the maze, meal, tractor-pulled hayride, kiddie train, horseshoes and feeding farm animals. Other attractions for an additional fee sponsored by GCTC students organizations include a haunted truck, sheriff’s jail, ring toss, cow chip throwing contest, face painting, s’mores, cake walk, and Hey y’all pictures.

            An auction includes items such as gift baskets, graphing calculator, scanner, cakes and an oil painting.

            Pistol Pete will be on hand from 7-7:45 p.m. and music for the evening will be provided by GCTC students Jerrod Beck, Bird Austin and Garrett Sayre.

            The Mikles Family Farm is one mile and a quarter north of Interstate 40 on Highway 18, then three quarters of a mile east.