Saturday, March 26, 2011

HUDSON-CHATHAM WINERY RELEASES NEW SYRUPS ON MARCH 26 & 27, 2011

Hudson Chatham Winery is releasing there new swath of freshily bottled 100% natural maple syrups.

We have Grade A Light Amber and Vanilla Grade A Amber in stock now! Available for tasting.


Today, March 26th and 27th, 2011, we are filtering and bottling Grabe B Dark and our famous Dirty Syrup, a blend of Grade A and B with a little cinnamon and local honey thrown in, it's like French Toast in a glass!

Come on down and try them this Maple Syrup Weekend!

FURNACE BROOK WINERY MAPLE SYRUP WEEKEND MARCH 26 & 27



Maple Syrup Weekend

Richmond, Massachusetts
Saturday & Sunday, March 26-27th, 2011


11:00AM
Noon & 3PM
Noon-4:00PM
Farm Winery Store opens, sit by the fireplace with some hot cider, hot cocoa and a fresh cider donut

* Learn now to “tap” a sugar maple tree to get sap
* Watch sap collection and see how this clear liquid turns into 100% pure and delicious maple syrup
* Watch how maple candy is made – a sweet and all- natural treat.
* Wine tasting all day! First taste is free.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Adirondack Maple Weekend March 26-27 to Offer Tours and Tastings

Adirondack Region, NY (Vocus) March 22, 2011
New York State’s Maple Weekend offers an extra sweet way to enjoy early spring in the Adirondack Region March 26-27, as sugar houses across the New York State Park open their doors for tours, tastings and more.

Each year, the Adirondack Region produces one-third of New York State’s maple syrup. Discover “Liquid Gold” during spring’s premier Adirondack festival weekend with free tastings, tours and plenty of sugaring.

Visit Adirondack Region sugar houses for a behind-the-scenes maple immersion. Top participating producers include:

The Adirondack Coast’s Park Family Maple Farm is a fifth generation maple operation. Take a horse drawn wagon ride, enjoy a pancake breakfast, take a tour and make maple cream and candy. Brow’s Sugarhouse will be open for free tours during Maple Weekend.

In the Adirondack Lakes Region, Friend Maple Products offers horse drawn wagon rides to the sugarbush, and samples of maple candy and ice cream. At Woods Maple Products, tours and boiling demos held.

Tour and taste around the Adirondack Tughill Region at Golden Maple Shanty, Pierce’s Sugar Spigot, Wayne & Glenn Zehr and Swiss’er Sweet Maple.

For a true Adirondack experience, Speculator’s McComb’s Oak Hill Farm staff will demonstrate tree tapping techniques and sap boiling.

From Fine-n-Dandy in Norwood, to Rutley Maple Farms in Potsdam, the Adirondack Seaway’s list of maple festivities are sure to delight any sweet tooth.

Lake George area maple festivities include a Winter Farmer’s Market, Sap to Syrup Maple Sugar Basics at Up Yonda Farm and town-wide sugaring demos and pancake breakfasts in Thurman.

Lake Placid’s Cornell University Uihlein Forest will provide guided tours of the entire syrup process, from sugarbush to sugarhouse.

The Adirondack Region is a six-million-acre New York State Park offering limitless recreation amid 2,000 miles of hiking trails and 3,000 lakes and ponds. Part of the largest temperate forest in the world, the Adirondack Region is also home to 100 towns and villages. The Adirondack Region is a unique park offering year-round recreation and events. Search Adirondack vacation packages, events and images at Visit Adirondacks.com.

Portland Herald Reviews Maple Sugar by Tim Herd


Staff Writer
Portland Herald

This is the time of year that you'll want to try maple syrup with everything, from the last of the butternut squash to your afternoon tea.

"Maple Sugar: From Sap to Syrup, The History, Lore, and How-To Behind this Sweet Treat" by Tim Herd, a Pennsylvania naturalist, is one of those "Everything you always wanted to know about" books. But in addition to the usual biology lesson and the primer on what the maple syrup grading system means, you'll find recipes for dishes such as maple sponge cake, pork chops with maple barbecue sauce, maple sugar biscuits and maple mousse.

There are also tips for how to substitute maple syrup for sugar in a recipe, and lots of nutritional information. (Did you know syrup has fewer calories than honey?)

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Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival (Virginia/Tri-Cities Region)


By Joe Tennis
Published: March 24, 2011
Bristol Herald-Courier

Tri-Cities.com


WHITETOP, Va. --
In the kitchen at the old Mount Rogers School, the calendar remains on June 2010.

That's when classes wrapped up at the landmark along U.S. Highway 58 in southwestern Grayson County, finishing with just three graduates for the year: Devin Reece Blevins, Kayla Dawn Hayes and Brandon Daton Roop.

Here, from the Great Depression to the Great Recession, classes remained in session at Mount Rogers School. The one-level school was also once the home of a unique string band, teaching students how to play bluegrass and old-time mountain music.

But school consolidation ultimately meant moving students elsewhere when the 2010-2011 academic year began. And, this year, that school stands empty.

The once homey setting of the K-12 school, still, feels cozy – well, at least as much as any schoolhouse could be.

Never mind a few dangling wires and empty bookshelves. With a little TLC, that brick-and-stone structure is slated for use again during the Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival on March 26-27, said organizer Buryl Greer.

Come Saturday, you'll find pancakes sizzling – then drizzling with syrup in the old school kitchen. Look for crafters packing the former classrooms plus storytelling and a nature slide show at the nearby Faith Lutheran Church.

Just down the road, bluegrass and old-time musicians will crank up tunes at the Mount Rogers Fire Hall.

And more fun can be found at the maple tree-tapping area of Elk Garden along the Smyth-Grayson county border.

Expect more than a good time.

This festival is also a fundraiser for the Mount Rogers Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad, which serves parts of Smyth, Grayson and Washington counties as well as neighboring North Carolina and Tennessee.



Sticky Fingers

Musician or not, consider Buryl Greer a character on The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail.

This mastermind of maple trees unites a tight band of volunteers at Whitetop.

He's also bound to have sticky fingers: For more than a decade, Greer, 69, has been instrumental in guiding February's tree-tapping ritual on Whitetop Mountain. There, he collects the sugar water that is ultimately boiled and made into syrup at the community's Sugar House.

It's not easy.

Especially when it snows, like it has so much during the past couple of winters, Greer said.

"We couldn't get to the trees until about the 15th of February. It was pretty bad but not as bad as last year when we couldn't get in the woods. The snow was so deep."

Getting to the lines to collect the sugar water has been one challenge. Another problem: waiting for the sugar water to actually flow.

A back-and-forth bounce between hot and cold is required: It takes just the right temperature combination of freezing at night then above-freezing temperatures during the day for the sugar water to gush from the maple trees, Greer said.

Then it takes long hours of boiling that sugar water to make syrup – the chief ingredient for the Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival, a tradition for decades.

"It's like a rite of spring," said festival volunteer Dean Richardson, 77. "The snow is leaving, and the leaves are going to start coming out, and we start tapping maple trees."

This year, the workload has been reduced – thanks to a $10,000 reverse osmosis machine, which leaves behind water with a higher sugar concentration, Greer said.

And what that boils down to, literally, is a reduced amount of time needed to work in the community's Sugar House: A shift can now span just two-and-a-half hours, instead of 10, allowing for more flexibility among the volunteer crew.

Shorter cooking time also saves burning oil that costs $3.63 a gallon, said volunteer Ken Kilby.



Musical Community

Gallon by gallon, Greer hopes to reclaim Whitetop's maple syrup heritage. This year, for one, Greer wants his band of maple men to produce at least 150 gallons of syrup – an increase of 25 gallons from last year.

Long gone, he said, are the days of importing extra sticky stuff from Vermont to pour across pancakes. Supplemental syrup, still, comes from Virginia's Highland County. But, Greer promised, that's now far less than half of what you'll find for sale at the festival. And, one day, he even hopes to do away with that.

Greer wants everything homegrown. Every ounce.

That's why he withstands winters at Whitetop – times of bone-numbing cold – to tap sugar maples and run their waters into a collection vat.

It's called sugaring.

Yet, it is not quite the old-fashioned chore it once was.

Today, you can still drift along the narrow lanes of the Whitetop community and see lines on trees leading to buckets – the time-honored way to collect sugar water – near the eastern terminus of the Virginia Creeper Trail. But back at Elk Garden, along the Appalachian Trail, Greer demonstrates his modern-day tools, including a gasoline-powered engine. It helps suck sugar water from tapped trees, like a vacuum, through gravity-fed lines.

Far from a four-lane highway, Whitetop lies near the center of The Crooked Road, a 253-mile-long marketing initiative launched in 2004 and designed to unite the towns and musicians of Southwestern Virginia – from Rocky Mount to Breaks Interstate Park.

Historically, Whitetop has been a musical place – even before the old Mount Rogers School was built on the eastern edge of the community in the late 1930s.

The long-gone White Top Folk Festival of the 1930s once attracted thousands to the grassy plain of the mile-high peak called Whitetop Mountain, rising above the village at the tri-county corner of Washington, Smyth and Grayson counties. Famously, too, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt paid a visit to the White Top Folk Festival on Aug. 12, 1933, and as many as 20,000 people came out to see her.

Kilby, for one, simply hopes the Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival exceeds last year's attendance of about 5,000 people.

And the music?

Oh, yes, he said, there will be music.

"We've got the bands that participate in this," said Kilby, 74. "But we've had them even before The Crooked Road."

jtennis@bristolnews.com (276) 791-0704


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64th Pennsylvania Maple Festival


64th Pa. Maple Festival showcases maple industry

Philip Hershberger of Meyersdale and some of his family members performed with the Wheelers-And-Dealers square dancing group at last year's Pa. Maple Festival. This year, the group is set to entertain this Sunday afternoon on the stage in Festival Park. (Photo by Sandra Lepley)
64th-pa-maple-festival-showcases-maple-industry-20110324

MEYERSDALE - — This year’s 64th annual Pa. Maple Festival comes on the heels of one of the most successful sugar seasons ever.


Set to begin this Saturday and Sunday and resume March 30 and 31 through April 1-3, the Pa. Maple Festival will not only deservedly have “bragging rights” about Somerset County’s sugar season, but also be able to update travelers as to the technology of the industry.


That’s because the Sugar Shack has gotten a facelift of sorts. In the past few months, Ron Brenneman, a longtime maple producer, and Perry Yoder and Harold Nicholson spent countless hours renovating the Sugar Shack to better educate the public about the maple industry.


The Somerset County Maple Producers Association led the effort by first providing funds for a drop flue, two by six-foot Leader evaporator. Then the work crew of Brenneman, Yoder and Nicholson paneled the walls with cedar siding and afterward, shelving was installed. The windows were redone and new sliding doors were also put in.


The new Sugar Shack shows a little bit of the old along with the newer way of producing maple syrup.


“The Maple Producers not only had a good year of producing, they also made a difference in what we do at the festival by funding this major project for Festival Park,” said Matt Caton, festival president. “It’s going to be great for our tourists to see how the maple industry evolved into what it is today.”


At noon April 2, shortly before the Grand Feature Parade which starts at 3 p.m., festival officials will dedicate the renovated Sugar Shack and pay tribute to the Somerset County Maple Producers Association for their support through the years.


Caton pointed out the rich heritage of maple production along with the strong community volunteerism make this traditional event like none other.


“It’s a two-week time period where people come together and work together with community spirit and pride,” he said. “There’s nothing else like it and we are fortunate enough to have second, third and fourth generation volunteers.”


This year at the festival, some new things and some old favorites are mixed together for family entertainment.Again this year in Festival Park, the Civil War and World War II re-enactors will be back along with Terry Dively at the blacksmithing display and Todd Johnson as the Ghost in the Head Native American demonstrator.


At Festival Park, Maple Manor will once again be open as thousands of visitors pour through the historic home full of antique furnishings. Maple Manor and its grounds is the historic cornerstone of the community that once where the founder of Meyersdale, Peter Meyers, lived and worked.


And, crafts vendors of all kinds and foods of many varieties will be available inside the park, as well as stage entertainment which include singing, dancing and musical acts.


Children of all ages will be able to drill holes with augers in an area with assimilated trees and at another area, they can enjoy crafts with their parents.


Also, the maple festival office will supply visitors with a list of local maple producers opening their camps for local, out-of-town and bus tours.


As a member of PSACF (Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs), the maple festival houses a large variety of fair items, except for livestock, in one of the main buildings in Festival Park.


Even beyond the borders of the historic park, there are countless activities throughout the community.


Every year, a whole host of community members cast as characters from Maple City history and present-day times step onto the stage at Meyersdale Area High School for “Legend of the Magic Water.” The production is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, March 30, April 1 and 2.


Every year for 44 years, hundreds of members from the Meyersdale Lions Club serve up hot pancakes and sausage and plenty of maple syrup for visitors near and far. The Pancake House opens at 8 a.m. each day of the festival at the Meyersdale Community Center. There will be a community pancake dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday.


Every year, visitors to the Pennsylvania Maple Festival are attracted to the Annual Quilt Show. Quilters from all over have their quilts on display at the Meyersdale fire department’s social room, across from the Lions Pancake House. The quilt show is open to the public throughout the festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.On Sunday the festival will once again hold its annual Street Rod and Classic Auto Show on Main and Center streets from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This car show began in 1983.


On the following Sunday, April 3, the festival will welcome entries for the Antique Auto Show, also on Main and Center streets. The antique car show opened at the maple festival in 1961. It will also be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.


At 6 p.m. April 1, classic car lovers bring their cars to the Maple City and cruise the streets. The Classic Car Cruise is a nostalgic night for many who enjoyed the times of poodle skirts and 1950s music. Following the car cruise, the annual festival dance will be held at 9 p.m. at the American Legion.The Grand Feature Parade will be set for 3 p.m. April 2, on Center Street in Meyersdale.


The Antique Tractor and Farm Machinery Show will be held at the Caton’s Old Time Tractor Repair, 321 Grant St., across from the old BP gas station. At 10 a.m. Saturday and the following Saturday and Sunday, there will be a tractor show. And, at 1 p.m. April 3, there will be Tractor Games, which will test a driver’s ability in how he or she can handle their tractor.


Also, the Maple Race 8K run/5K walk begins at 10 a.m. April 2, at the Western Maryland Train Station. This year, the race will be held the second Saturday instead of the first Saturday as it is usually scheduled.


The community worship service will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.The horse pulling contest at the Somerset County Fairgrounds will once again be held at 1 p.m. April

3.


For more information on any of the events, call the Maple Festival office at 814-634-0213 or tollfree at 866-858-0213.

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Maine Maple Sunday from the Free Press (Maine)



Maine Maple Sunday
3/24/2011 1:18:00 PM
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Always the 4th Sunday in March


The cold nights and warm days of early spring bring the sap run that produces Maine's maple syrup. The state's maple producers are gearing up for Maine Maple Sunday, observed this year on Sunday, March 27.


Maple producers around the state open the doors of their sugarhouses for the public to see firsthand how 40 gallons of maple sap are turned into just one gallon of Maine maple syrup. Most sugarhouses offer tastings and live demonstrations of how syrup is produced, from tap to table, and other treats and activities. Many sugarhouses will arrange special tours and demonstrations for groups on other days as well - call them to make arrangements.


Midcoast sugarhouses planning to participate in Maple Sunday, according to the Maine Deparment of Agriculture, are listed below (a full statewide list is available at http://www.getrealmaine.com/).

• In Knox County: Freyenhagen's Family Farm, 51 Wotton's Mill Road, Union, 785-4559; Golden Nugget Sugar Shack, 328 Gurney Town Road, Appleton, 785-2518; Maine Gold, 229 Park Street, Rockland, 593-0090; and Rock Maple Acres, 2565 Burkettville Road, Appleton, 845-2865.

• In Lincoln County: Goranson Farm, 250 River Road, Dresden, 737-8834; Ragged Rock Farm, 79 Wiscasset Road, Whitefield, 549-3459; Rice Farms Maple Syrup, 36 Split Rock Road, Wapole, 563-6023; Sproul Homestead, Walpole, 563-5316; and Spruce Bush Farm, 101 Old Madden Road, Jefferson, 549-7448.

• In Waldo County: Kinney's Sugarhouse, 200 Abbott Road, Knox, 568-7576; Heal's Sugar House & Orchard, 144 Heal Road, Lincolnville, 763-3150; Hillcrest Orchards, Winterport, 223-4416; Sugar Mountain Maple Farms, North Palermo Road, Freedom, 993-6070; Wentworth Hill Farms, 1805 Webb Road, Knox, 322-3081; Simmons and Daughters Maple Syrup, 261 Weymouth Road, Morrill, 342-2444; and Winterport Hills Farm, 269 Goshen Road, Winterport, 223-5485.

Camden-Rockport Historical Society Open for Maple Sunday

The Camden-Rockport Historical Society will join the statewide celebration of Maine Maple Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 27. The society operates the Cramer Museum complex and will offer demonstrations of maple syrup making in its 1820s sugarhouse. Free maple syrup ice cream sundaes will be available in the museum, along with maple-flavored donuts.

Society Director Marlene Hall says, "We'll also have an Old Fashioned Taffy Pull - maple flavored, of course - and visitors can try their hand at hand-cranking ice cream.

"There'll be free samples of open fire pit cooking - Maynard Stanley's famous chuckwagon beans - and a blacksmithing demonstration in the smithy's shop. People can also try their hand at rope making and hatchet throwing. The Breakers jazz group will entertain. Donations will be gratefully accepted, and the gift shop will be open, with maple products for sale as well as other handcrafted items.

The museum complex is at the Camden-Rockport town line on Route 1. For more information, contact Hall at 594-8047 or e-mail crmuseum@midcoast.com.
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Saturday, March 12, 2011

2011 NATIONAL MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL MARCH 12 & 13



A little late with this news, so, so sorry. Unfortunately, it's been a busy winter. Here's the URL for the festival in Indiana, sponosored by King Arthur Flower.
http://www.nationalmaplesyrupfestival.com


CLICK THIS URL TO WATCH COMMERCIAL

Tree Tapping Ceremony in Chataqua County 2011


(Assemblyman Andy Goodell, left, taps a maple tree at MRC Farms in Sinclairville with the assistance of co-owner Ken Morley during Chautauqua Maple Promotion Day on Friday.P-J photo by Dave Emke)


Sweet Ceremony
Maple Season Kicked Off With Tree-Tapping Event
March 12, 2011 - By Dave Emke demke@post-journal.com
THE POST-JOURNAL, Jamestown, NY


SINCLAIRVILLE - Though at least some of the county's 50-plus maple producers have already made syrup this month, a ceremonial tree-tapping officially began the 2011 maple season in Chautauqua County on Friday.

Assemblyman Andy Goodell was assisted by MRC Farms co-owner Ken Morley in driving a tap into a tree just outside the maple producer's sugarhouse on Water Street in Sinclairville. The ceremonial event took place at the conclusion of Chautauqua Maple Promotion Day, an event designed to promote and raise awareness about the maple industry in the county.
Prior to the ceremony, Goodell said that the maple industry is a valuable part of the county's makeup.

''The agriculture industry is very important in Chautauqua County, and the maple syrup industry is an important part of that,'' he said. ''I keep Chautauqua County maple syrup on hand not only because I like it, but when I have guests from out-of-town, it's a special treat to give them pure maple syrup made from right here in Chautauqua County.''

Maple producers from across the county were represented at the event, including Big Tree Maple from Lakewood, Fairbanks Maple from Arkwright, Maple Cider Farms from Bemus Point, Fred Croscut from Sherman, and Don Mansfield from Fredonia. Each was given an opportunity during the morning to speak about their operation and discuss the intricacies of maple production with those gathered for the event.

Croscut said that the Maple Producers Association of the Chautauqua Region, which was well-represented at the event, is a close-knit organization that does well to promote the industry.
''I'm very proud to be a part of it as we all work together toward a common goal,'' he said. ''I enjoy the camaraderie - I don't think anybody's going to make a lot of money doing this, but it's just good to get up and keep moving.''

Morley, who co-owns MRC Farms along with Keith Carlson, said that it is a third-generation operation that has been in his family since the 1950s. It is now among the largest maple farms in Chautauqua County, with about 7,000 taps producing between 18,000 and 22,000 gallons of maple syrup during the season.

He said that it's a business that has been in his blood since he was a child, and something he has always found enjoyment in doing with his family.

''It's something we love doing,'' he said. ''I have two nephews who are a great help - they're laid off in the wintertime and need something to do.''

The maple outfit gives everyone plenty of work, bringing in approximately 100,000 gallons of sap during the four-week production season, Morley said. In addition to maple syrup, MRC Farms produces maple cream and maple sugar pieces.

Morley said that he enjoyed the opportunity Friday to meet with fellow producers and others from the community to talk about the business and share information. He also said that local producers should be proud of the maple syrup they produce and distribute to customers.
''It's all-natural and basically 100 percent organic,'' he said. ''The heck with Mrs. Butterworth.''

For more information about MRC Farms and its maple products, call Morley at 499-0481.

Chautauqua County's maple producers will be spotlighted once again during upcoming Maple Weekends, which will be held March 19-20 and March 26-27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, at both Big Tree Maple and Fairbanks Maple.

At Fairbanks Maple Products, 9265 Putnam Road in Arkwright, the Fairbankses will be collecting and boiling sap, as well as making their products for interested visitors. They also plan to offer an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at a cost of $6 for adults and $3 for children. Free samples of their products will be given out, and horse-drawn wagon rides will be offered on Sundays.

At Big Tree Maple, 2040 Holly Lane in Lakewood, the Munsees will also be collecting, boiling and making products. Pancake breakfasts are planned there as well, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at a cost of $7 for adults and $3 for children. Free samples will be offered up, and cream and sugar will be made if possible.


Festivities will also be taking place at the same time at more than 100 other maple producers in 44 other counties across the state during the 16th annual event. For more information about Maple Weekend, including a complete listing of all producers in the state who are participating, visit http://www.mapleweekend.com/.


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WALL STREET JOURNAL SAYS ITS A BANNER YEAR FOR SYRUP!

WALL STREET JOURNAL
MARCH 12, 2011
Maple's Moment
From scrambled eggs to side salads, a guide to all the marvelous places the golden syrup can go.

Thanks to the historic lashings of snow that hit the Northeast this winter, we're poised, pancakes stacked, for what's likely to be a banner year in maple production. Icy nights and warmer days are essential to a good syrup season—the end-of-winter rhythm of freeze and thaw coaxes sap from the trees for as long as they can resist the urge to bud, usually four to six weeks. Last year overheated prematurely, leaving some producers with a maple bust. But it's been a snowy season, and chances are good that the sugar bush (as tapping areas are cheerily called) will stay chilled and the sweet sap will flow.


With a glut of nature's most bewitching sweetener headed our way, it's high time to break maple out of its brunch hour rut. Under that sticky toffee veneer are layers of smoke and tannin that play just as well at dinner or cocktail hour. In search of a few unexpected ways to use the spoils, we turned to chefs across the Northeast.

—Kristen Miglore

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580004576180583301067532.html

MAPLE WEEKEND SET FOR NEXT TWO WEEKS


Maple Weekend set for next two weekends
March 12, 2011 - By JENNA LOUGHLIN
THE OBSERVER, DUNKIRK, NY


Ever wondered how exactly sap from a maple tree becomes the tasty, sticky syrup on your pancakes? Now you can see for yourself.

New York state is putting on its 16th annual Maple Weekend during the last two weekends in March, the 19-20, and 26-27. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., participating sugar houses will open their doors to those interested in the maple syrup process.

One of the regional farms taking part in the celebration is Maple Glen Sugar House in Gowanda. Owner Paul Lesefske will have his farm open both weeks, complete with a demonstration of how maple syrup is made from tapping the tree, to boiling the sap in the sugar house which hosts a more modern method of sap collection using a tubing system. Kids can even have a hands-on experience tapping trees and hanging buckets.

"It's educational for the public," Lesefske said. "You can get out and see different sugar houses and how everybody does things a little different."

In addition, Maple Glen Sugar House will offer free samples of all of the products it sells, such as maple syrup, maple candy, granulated sugar, maple cream, maple peanuts, maple jelly, six to eight flavors of pancake mix, maple drops, maple mustard and maple barbecue sauce and free horse-drawn wagon rides down through the sugar bush and back.

One of Lesefske's specialties is hot dogs that he will have for sale that have been boiled in maple sap.

"As the sap becomes more concentrated, by the time you take the hot dogs out, there's a slight glaze of syrup on them," Lesefske said. "We sell a lot of them."

Lesefske has been in business for 14 years and this year's season began for him on Feb. 12 with the tapping of trees. The first boil of the year occurred on Feb. 17 and he expects to continue making syrup four to six weeks from then.

"We've got a pretty good start on (the season)," Lesefske said. "We need freezing nights and back in the 40s during the day."

Also taking part is Fairbanks Maple in Forestville. Co-owners Linda Fairbanks will be having a pancake breakfast on top of opening up her sugar house to curious folk. The breakfast will be $6 for adults, $3 for kids over six, and six and under eat free. The meal will consist of all-you-can-eat pancakes, two sausage patties, scrambled eggs and a drink.

There will also be samples available from the many products that Fairbanks Maple produces from maple syrup to maple mustard to maple fluff, similar to cotton candy but made from granulated maple sugar. For those who visit the farm on either Sunday, there will be horse drawn wagon rides.

Big Tree Maple in Lakewood, co-owned by brother Dave and Lloyd Munsee, will also be hosting a pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all four days that features buttermilk maple pancakes, Munsee Farm fresh, farm raised pork sausage and a beverage. The cost is $7 for adults, $3 for kids over two years old and two and under eat free. Big Tree Maple can be found at http://www.bigtreemaple.com/.

Lastly, the Gowanda Fire Hall on Aldrich Street will be hosting a pancake breakfast of its own both weekends from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.


For more information on Maple Weekend and a full list of participating sugar houses, visit http://www.mapleweekend.com/. Happy sugaring!


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