The Paproski family of Castle Hill Farm on Sugar Lane is hosting a “Show Your Glow” fundraiser, Thursday evening, October 30, from 6 to 9 pm, to benefit the Avielle Foundation, supporting community and brain health.

Every year, the Paproskis mow a unique design into nearly eight acres of corn bordering Route 302 and Sugar Lane. The maze this year  — three large fireflies and one smaller one — is the creation of 2005 Newtown High School graduate Stephanie Paproski, the daughter of Diana and Steve Paproski, who operate the farm and corn maze.

Her inspiration came following a chance meeting at last spring’s Earth Day celebration at the Newtown Middle School. Stephanie had set up a booth at the Earth Day event “and there was just this guy who stopped by, and we started talking. I felt like I had known him for years. He talked about how much his family loved our corn maze, and the conversation just kind of led to what the theme for the corn maze would be this year,” she said. The man suggested a firefly.

It was not until he shared a photo of his daughter taken at a past corn maze event that Stephanie realized he was Jeremy Richman, and that the little girl in the photo was Avielle, one of the children killed in the December 14, 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The firefly, one of Avielle’s favorite insects, is the mascot of The Avielle Foundation, founded to “prevent violence by fostering brain health research, education, and policy; and community development, engagement, and responsibility.”

“We had never seen fireflies before moving to New England,” said Jeremy Richman. “They don’t have them in California. So it was exciting when we first saw them,” he said.

Avielle was amazed by the blinking bugs, and asked her parents — both scientists — how this insect could light up, said Mr Richman. Receiving a fairly detailed and scientific answer, Avielle responded, “Yep, that’s what I thought, magic.”

The suggestion that the maze be done depicting fireflies struck a chord with Stephanie, and she started thinking how it could work.

“I had heard about The Avielle Foundation [before the Earth Day event], absolutely,” said Stephanie. “[Mr Richman] seemed to care so much about how successful our farm could be. It wasn’t all about them, at all,” said Ms Paproski.

The conversation with Stephanie flowed, said Mr Richman of the Earth Day encounter.

“Avielle and Jen [Hensel, Avielle’s mother] and I had gone to the corn maze the October before the murders, and I told Stephanie how much we enjoyed it,” he said. “Stephanie just ran with the idea [of a firefly maze],” said Mr Richman.

The Paproskis let Stephanie go with the firefly theme, Diana Paproski said. The corn was just six inches tall when Stephanie took her map, drawn out roughly on a scrap of paper, eyeballed the field, and with her father, carved out the design using a riding lawn mower. The trail meanders through the corn, much like the unpredictable flight of a firefly. Thirty facts about fireflies are posted along the way.

Donations have been accepted to support The Avielle Foundation at the Castle Hill Farm Pumpkin Patch and at the Corn Maze this fall, Stephanie said, but the family wanted to do more. The Show Your Glow benefit will be the way to further promote a cause that the Paproski family feels is important.

“We’ve been doing the maze for about 18 years,” Diana Paproski said, “and we have never before done a fundraiser. There are so many good causes, but I went on line to www.aviellefoundation.org and read the articles Jeremy has written. I liked what he was saying about community and brain health research. I like the research they are doing and the avenue they are taking to get there. I like how well organized the website is, and there is a lot of great information there that is helpful to people.”

Having just retired this past spring from 35 years of teaching at the elementary school level, Ms Paproski is familiar with the many different needs that can arise.

“Sometimes, you just don’t know the best way to help. I’m hoping the research [The Avielle Foundation] is doing will help people live better in their communities. This foundation,” said Ms Paproski, “makes sense to me.”

“The whole idea of a night time fire fly event is great,” Mr Richman said. Not only can people “be little fireflies in the maze,” but it is an opportunity for people to “get together and talk about brain health, and work to prevent violence and build compassion in our local community,” he said.

“We want people to approach the problem we have with violence in a rigorous scientific sense, but also as something everyone can understand. We want people to know that there are ways to foster healthy behaviors and deter unhealthy ones, and to understand that the brain is just another organ,” Mr Richmans said. Like any other organ, the brain can be healthy or unhealthy. “It’s not just about the scientific, but the community engagement aspect of brain health. Knowledge is power, and we want to empower our community,” he said. He is pleased that the Paproskis and Castle Hill Farm are supporting the Avielle Foundation. “The Paproskis are such good people,” he said.

Stephanie likes that The Avielle Foundation supports not only brain health, but also community health. And that, she said is what Castle Hill Farm is all about.

“For my dad,” said Stephanie, “it’s always been about fun and making people happy.”

“We just want a nice place for people to come,” added Diana Paproski.

Like fireflies attracted to the night air, the firefly design seems to have attracted an unusually large number of visitors, Diana Paproski said.

“Everything is just so perfect this year. We have been blessed this fall with so many school groups visiting the farm. I think it’s good Karma,” she said.

Tickets for the Show Your Glow benefit are available each afternoon at the Sugar Lane entrance to the corn maze, at 25 Sugar Lane (off Route 302/Sugar Street), from 2 to 5 pm, or at the gate on Thursday evening. The ticket price of $15 includes access to the night corn maze, bonfire, and live music, and 100 percent of the ticket sales go to benefit The Avielle Foundation. Beverages and food will be available. Participants will receive helium balloons with glow sticks within to light the way, or bring a flashlight to “Show Your Glow.”

For more information visit www.castlehillfarm.net, www.Facebook.com/castlehillfarmCT, send email to castlehillfarmct@gmail.com, or call 203-426-5487.