During maple sugaring season, maple syrup festivals, tours and open house events are held annually and here is a list of some that are coming up.
North America — In regions where maple trees grow, maple sugaring season usually begins in February and runs thru March. When freezing nights turn into above freezing days, maple trees are tapped, the sap is collected, boiled down and made into maple syrup and maple sugar.
It is during this time that maple producers, maple associations, historic farms, municipalities and other organizations hold maple syrup festivals, offer tours or open their doors to the public giving them the opportunity to learn the history and experience the making of maple syrup and maple sugar.
Most of these events are held annually and here is a roundup of some that are coming up:
Maybury Farm Maple Syrup Festival
Northville, MI — Maybury Farm Maple Syrup Festival takes place weekends in March- 3/6-3/28, noon-5pm. The farm offers tours where festival goers can take a wagon ride, walk into the woods, see where trees have been tapped, learn about maple syrup and even get a sample.
Maybury Farm
50165 8 Mile Rd.,
Northville, MI 48168
248-704-9211
Butcher Family Maple Products 2022 Sugarhouse Tour and Open House
Mount Vernon, OH — The Butcher Family Maple Products 2022 Sugarhouse Tour and Open House is scheduled for March 5, 6, 12 and 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the sugar house, try a variety of samples and purchase an assortment of lovely maple syrup products.
“I’m the seventh generation to grow up here, and our children are the eighth,” said Justin Butcher who runs this family business.
They tapped about 15-20 maple trees when they first started “From that point on, we were hooked. We expanded the next year. We installed this tubing system on our farm. From there, we added a few more [taps] to get where we are,” he said. Today, they have about 5,300 maple taps.
Justin said the maple sugaring season depends on the weather. “In order to make maple syrup, we need freezing nights, thawing days,” Butcher said. “We make an amber to robust maple syrup. The longer that syrup is exposed to heat, the darker it’s gonna be, the more robust flavor it’s gonna have. Later in the year, your flavors change, earlier in the year your flavors change. The environment has a lot to do with the flavor of pure maple syrup.”
Butcher Family Maple Products
12360 Butcher Road
Mt. Vernon, OH 43050
(740) 403-0648
Ney Nature Center Maple Syrup Program
Henderson, MN — Ney Nature Center Maple Syrup Program teaches visitors how maple syrup made in this hands-on class that includes a taste test of Ney maple syrup! All ages. $3 for members, $5 for non-members. Pre-registration required.
Saturday, March 5th, 1-2:30pm
Sunday, March 6th, 1-2:30pm
Wednesday, March 16th, 5-6:30pm
Friday, March 25th, 5-6:30pm
Ney Nature Center a Le Sueur County Park
28238 Nature Center Lane, PO Box 93
Henderson, MN 56044, United States
507-357-8580
Maplefest at MSU Tollgate Farm and Education
Novi, MI — Maplefest at MSU Tollgate Farm and Education will be held March 5th and 6th, 2022 and the activities will be as follows:
- Enjoy a wagon ride out to the sugar bush
- Munch on sweet maple-themed treats and sip a hot beverage from our concession stand
- Learn how to identify a maple tree
- Tap a maple tree
- See where the magic happens in our Sugar Shack.
- Watch a chainsaw artist turn a log into art
- Warm up by the fire
- Indulge in Maple Fudge made by Tollgate’s 4H Club
- And much more!
Pre-registration is recommended and all activities are outdoors, so please dress for the weather!
Hourly timeslots from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday
Adults: $10
Children 3-12: $10
Children 2 and under free (you do not need to register this age group)
Registration is nonrefundable
Maplefest at MSU Tollgate Farm
28115 Meadowbrook Road
Novi, MI 48377
248-347-3860
Ohio Maple Madness Tour
Burton, OH — This year, the Ohio Maple Producers Association’s annual Ohio Maple Madness Tour will be held March 5-6 and March 12–13 and includes nearly 50 maple syrup producers and retailers throughout the state.
A popular stop is the Geauga County village of Burton, which is also known as “Pancaketown, USA”, where in the center of the town square, the Burton Chamber of Commerce operates a log cabin that is a working sugar-house producing maple sugar and maple candy.
On tour days, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfasts will be served at several locations including the American Legion, Burton Fire Station, Century Village Museum and Berkshire High School.
Burton Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 537
14590 East Park Street
Burton, Ohio 44021
In North America maple syrup is the most popular natural sweetener next to honey and its production predates European colonization. Indigenous peoples from the northeastern part of North America were the first group known to produce maple syrup and maple sugar. Aboriginal oral traditions and archaeological evidence suggest that organic raw maple tree sap was being turned into syrup long before Europeans arrived. European settlers adopted the practice and advanced production methods.
