It’s
a sweet New England tradition—toasting old man winter out the door with
delicious new maple syrup. As soon as days are above freezing and the sap
begins to run, the annual spring ritual begins.
Turning
thin sap into thick, fragrant syrup is a fascinating process and Western
Connecticut, where sugar maple trees abound, is one of the best places to see
it in action. More than a dozen sugar houses in Fairfield County and the
Litchfield Hills invite visitors to see how it is done, from tapping the maple
trees to collecting the sap to boiling down the thin watery sap until it turns
to the thick, fragrant syrup.
A
variety of settings, from farms and nature centers to museums are among the
maple possibilities, most offering tastes as well as show and tell, and many
have take-home syrup for purchase as a sweet souvenir. While many sugarhouses
invite visitors anytime during the first three weekends in March (see list
below), some locations plan one festive day to celebrate the season.
The
MAPLE Calendar
March
4-5
The
Plymouth Maple Fest takes place this year on March 4 on the Plymouth Green, 10
Park St, on Rte. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be maple syrup boiling on
an outdoor fire, live music with Fiddlin’ with Down Home Frolic, crafts for
kids, maple ham and baked beans to snack on and even horse drawn hay rides.
Best of all admission is free.
The
Stamford Museum & Nature Centers starts the month in gala fashion with its
annual Maple Sugar Festival slated for March 4 and 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
Every year, the Museum places buckets on more than 200 maple trees on its
118-acre site, collecting sap to produce maple syrup in the little red
sugarhouse on its Heckscher Farm. Visitors will see firsthand the process of
tapping and collecting the sap. Kids can make a maple-themed craft, go on a
scavenger hunt, have their face painted and join in the fun on Saturday for the
Chef’s Challenge, using maple syrup to make delicious treats. On Sunday
everyone can join in the popular pancake brunch. www.stamfordmuseum.org
The
Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington will have a different take
on sugaring at its annual Pancake Festival on March 4 from 11 a.m. to 3
p.m. Demonstrations will show how local Native Americans traditionally
made maple syrup and its importance to their culture. Pancakes will be served
with local maple syrup and there will be special activities for children. New
this year is the Connecticut Valley Siberian Husky Club’s dog sledding and
mushing demonstration. www.iaismuseum.org
Pancakes
are also on the menu on March 5 from 8 a.m. to noon at the annual all you can
eat pancake breakfast to benefit Flanders Nature Center at the Woodbury
Emergency Services Building on Quassuk Rd. in Woodbury.
Flanders
Nature Center is also hosting maple sugaring demonstrations at the Sugar House
located on 5 Church Hill Rd. in Woodbury on March 4 and 5, 11 and 12 from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. www.flandersnaturecenter.org
March 8 – 11
For those who can’t make the
first weekend, March offers many other special events.
The Greenwich Land Trust is
hosting two maple sugar events. The first is the Sugar Maple Winter Walk on
March 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Duck Pond Hill on 12 Burning Tree Rd
in Greenwich. Stroll through the American Chestnut Sanctuary and learn about
their comeback in Connecticut. The highlight of this event is to watch a maple
tapping to learn what goes into making the sweet stuff! Walking
conditions may be a bit tricky because the walk will be on uneven terrain. The second event takes place on March 11 from
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Greenwich Land Trust located on 370 Round Hill Rd. in
Greenwich. There will be an afternoon of of demonstrations on maple tapping and syrup boiling – learn
what goes into making the sweet stuff! Many family fun activities are
planned. The Rain Date: Sunday, March
12. Pre-registration required
https://gltrust.ejoinme.org/MyPages/EventRegistrationPage/tabid/815080/Default.aspx
The
Annual Maple Festival at Sweet Wind Farm takes place in East Hartland on March 11
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The busy day will include tree tapping, maple syrup and
maple sugar making demonstrations with free syrup samples, a narrated slide
show and video, tours, live music, and --almost everyone’s favorite activity--
a sugar-on-snow candy making demonstration. www.sweetwindfarm.net
March
18
The
annual Open House at the Great Brook Sugar House on Sullivan Farm in New
Milford takes place on March 18 from 10 am to 5 pm and is one of the programs
provided for the community’s young people by the New Milford Youth
Agency. Some 1600 trees are tapped on property donated by local
residents. Dozens of high school and college students assist in the collection,
processing, packaging and sales of the syrup. At the Open House guides will
escort visitors around the farm to various sites to see demonstrations
reflecting a 300-year history of maple sugaring. Syrup and other maple products
will be available for purchase. Everyone is invited to visit the Sugar House
anytime smoke from the chimney says that the syrup kettles are a-cooking.
Syrup
Saturday at the New Canaan Nature Center on March 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
is always a festive day. Events include tree-tapping demos, a maple sap
boil down at the Sugar Shack, and a look at historic methods of making maple
syrup plus a delicious Pancake Brunch. Visitors are invited to join
naturalists for a hike along "Maple Lane" to learn tree
identification tips, then warm up around the campfire to share tall tales, and
make a Maple craft to take home. www.newcanaannature.org
March 25 is also the date of
the annual Maplefest! at the Sharon Audubon Center. From 12 noon. to 4 p.m.
guided tours of the center’s sugaring operation that includes at working
sugarhouse and a re-creation of Native American and early colonial sugaring
methods. Watch as pure sugar maple sap is
collected from the trees and turned into delicious maple syrup. Fresh syrup
will be available for purchase, while supplies last, as well as locally made
maple candy.
Visit
Any Weekend
The
sugaring season starts early at large facilities like Lamothe’s Sugar House in
Burlington, where the public is invited to see how syrup is made every weekend through
March 30. This family owned operation began as a hobby with seven taps and has
grown to over 4500 taps and a year-round showroom. Their shop offers a tempting
array of unusual foods like maple mustard and maple apple butter plus original
maple-themed items from embroidered aprons, decorating sets, and cupcake shaped
rubber spatulas to a cupcake carrier in the shape of a big cupcake.
Another sugarhouse open to
the public on weekends is Brookside Farm on 79 East Chestnut Hill Road in
Litchfield. Started in 1999 as a
second act to corporate careers, the owners' overall goal is to promote the
resurgence of sustainable agriculture in Connecticut. On their 30 acres farm,
they produce hay (for horses) and maple syrup (for people). Their maple syrup
won 3 rd place in the 2014 International Maple Syrup tasting contest. Call (860) 567-3890 before setting out to confirm the
syrup operation. They are open for visits through March 30.
The
following sugarhouse locations all welcome visitors the first three weekends in
March, and some, like Lamothe’s begin in February as well. Weather can alter
schedules, so a call ahead is absolutely necessary to verify openings, hours
and directions before making a trip.
Brookside
Farm, 79 East Chestnut Road, Litchfield, 860-567-3805, mid-February-March
Brothers
and Sons Sugarhouse, 998 Saw Mill Road, Torrington, 860-489-2719,
mid-February-March
Dutton’s
Sugarhouse, 28 Sunny Ridge Road, Washington, 860-0345, mid-February- March
Flanders
Nature Center Maple Sugar House, Church Hill Rd., Woodbury, 203-263-3711,
www.flandersnaturecenter.org
Great
Brook Sugarhouse at Sullivan Farm, 140 Park Lane (Route 202), New Milford,
860-210-2030, mid-February-March, www.youthagency.org
Hilljack
Sugar Shack, 74 Wilson Rd., Litchfield, 860-482-6052.
Institute
for American Indian Studies, 38 Curtis Rd., Washington, 860-868-0518.
www.iaismuseum.org
Kasulaitis
Farm and Sugarhouse, 69 Goose Green Road, Barkhamsted, 860-379-8787,
mid-February-March
Land
of Nod Vineyard and Winery, 99 Lower Rd., East Canaan, 860-824-5225, www.landofnodwinery.com
Lamothe’s
Sugar House, 89 Stone Road, Burlington, 860-675-5043,mid-February-March.
www.Lamothesugarhouse.com
New Canaan Nature Center, 144 Oenoke Ridge Rd., New
Canaan, 203 – 966-9577, www.newcanaannature.org.
Sharon
Audubon, 325 Cornwall Bridge Rd., Sharon, 860-364-0520, www.sharon.audubon.org
Stamford
Museum and Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 203-322-1646.
Sweetwind
Farm, 339 South Rd., East Hartland, 860-653-2038, www.sweetwindfarm.net
Three
Pond Meadow Farm, 240 Ramstein Rd., New Hartford,
860-482-3628
Warrup’s
Farm, John Reed Road off Route 107, Redding, 203- 938-9403, www.warrupsfarm.com
West
Hill Sugarhouse, 525 West Hill Road, New Hartford, 860-379-9672
Woodbury
Sugarshed, 41 Washington Road, Woodbury, 203-263-4550, mid-February-March,
www.woodburysugarshed.com
No comments:
Post a Comment