Its All About The Maple in Vermont

So what did we learn after our oh so sweet adventure? When it’s spring in Vermont, thoughts turn to maple sugaring. From back yard buckets to big commercial evaporators, its all about the maple. Warm days and cold nights get the sap running and when the governor thinks its going to hit peak, he announces the annual Maple Sugar Festival. Sugar Houses, inns, restaurants, craft fairs all join in with special hours and events.

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Its a culture of Maple

We met down to earth, hard working people who took great pride in their maple products and the Vermont Maple Products reputation. Even in the city (Brattleboro) there was still a hard working rural ethic. We even found one sugar house that sold their products on the honor system. Their cash sat out on a table in a basket. You were trusted to pay for your purchases and if you made change to be honest. No credit cards required.

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We Learned about Grades

No, not the kind you get in school. We learned there are different grades of maple syrup. I learned that I like the most refined grade, the Golden, the best although the Amber was a close 2nd. We talked about apples and orchards as well as maple and sampled maple cream, cider donuts and maple cookies.

Photo by Jr St Jean, Take Pride Photography https://www.facebook.com/JRStJeanPhotographer/

To sum it up

We had a great time but to really get the most out of the Festival I’d like to get a room and spend the weekend. I’d drive up Friday night so I could get an early start on Saturday. http://vermontmaple.org/ Enjoy a pancake breakfast, explore more of the Sugar Houses. Some example of activities offered at participating sugar houses include:

Tours of sugar house and woods
Pancake breakfasts
Maple candy-making demonstrations
Live music
Horse-drawn sleigh rides
Sugar-on-snow
Sampling of maple syrup
Maple donuts, maple cotton candy, maple creemees and other maple goodies to try
Maple syrup and maple specialty products to purchase

I’m sure I’d make myself sick with so much sugar but it’s only one weekend, Right?

One last thing I learned. I understand why reporters don’t take their own photos. I felt very rude taking out the camera while someone was busy explaining about their business. I missed quite a few photos and Joe was nice enough to share his pictures to fill in what I missed.