The sweetest season

Producers gear up for Maple in the County

Andrew Foster (R), seen here with his father, Todd, is the youngest syrup producer in the Maple in the County festival.

High above the ground, photoreceptors in the tiny maple leaf buds sense the gradual increase in daylight hours, triggering the creation of hormones that eventually work down towards the roots where they stimulate the production of an enzyme that cleaves apart starch molecules into sugar. Warm days and cool nights encourage the sugar-laden sap to flow back up to the hungry buds, giving them the energy to eventually turn into maple leaves. But on the way from root to bud, the sweet sap can be tapped by other hungry creatures. In one Indigenous oral tradition, the First Peoples found out about this welcome food source from the squirrel. The squirrels would nibble on the tender branch tips, and then return the next morning to lick off the sugar crystals that had formed overnight from the sap that leaked out. The First Peoples learned how to collect the sap and boil it down into syrup and then further down into maple sugar, an important source of energy at a time when food was scarce. Early European settlers adopted this tradition, and today it continues in the County and elsewhere. Last Thursday, the County’s major maple syrup producers launched the 19th season of Maple in the County at Justin’s Maple Syrup on County Road 32. The festival will take place on March 28 and 29, and 13 syrup producers will welcome thousands of visitors to their sugar shacks all around the County. Many of the producers will offer pancake breakfasts, and some will have wagon rides and walking trails. This is a family friendly festival, and there will be plenty of activities for children, including a petting zoo at Walt’s Sugar Shack and baby animals at Nyman Farms. Jubilee Forest Farms will once again be offering gluten-free or dairy-free pancakes for breakfast.

Ron Hubbs, chairman of the maple syrup producers association, welcomed everyone to Justin’s Maple Syrup for the season kickoff. “Maple syrup is a very labour-intense crop, but it’s done with pride and dignity, and producers really strive to put the best product forward,” he said. “And that runs parallel with Maple in the County. It takes quite a bit to organize the event, but the producers all work together and it really pays off.” He made a special note of Clifford Foster, who at age 89 is the County’s most senior maple producer, but was unable to attend the kickoff. “Clifford has been a real supporter of Maple in the County. He’s been a mentor to me for years and years.” Hubbs also thanked the County for all its support, particularly the work of Ashley Stewart, who helped redesign the association’s website. Representatives from the federal and provincial governments were present to extend their well-wishes for the festival. “This is really about those families that come back year after year, looking for those memories and looking for the celebration of what they find in Prince Edward County for maple weekend,” said Adam Bramburger, constituency assistant for MPP Todd Smith. “You, the producers, are the curators of that story for them. It’s a celebration of tradition and innovation, and you are tapping all the right notes.” Bramburger went on to add that Vader’s Maple Kettle Corn may have played a significant role in getting his then-girlfriend to become his wife.

Ron Hubbs welcomes visitors to Justin’s Maple Syrup for the kickoff to the County’s maple festival.

Mayor Steve Ferguson and a number of councillors were also in attendance, although it appeared that Councillor Phil St. Jean only showed up after Mabel the Maple mascot made her exit. “This event announces the beginning of our tourist season,” said Ferguson. “This event is crucially important because of the thousands of visitors that come to us in Prince Edward County and take home with them not only the [maple] products, but also the memories that will motivate them to hopefully come back and visit.” To ensure that there is a cohesive message, the producers association created a marketing group to coordinate any promotion and advertising. Keturah Breckon, who operates Justin’s Maple Syrup with her husband, Justin Williams, is one of the members of the group. “There was so much to do with this event, and in the past it’s been in the hands of only a couple of people,” she said. “This year we wanted a good group of minds to think together and split up the work. This is the kickoff to the County’s tourist season, so if we can get them here and get them interested in visiting, that’s the best thing we can do.”

The latest addition to the maple festival is 21-year-old Andrew Foster, who has been making maple syrup on the family farm since he was 10 years old. This year he’s collecting from 600 taps in his sugar bush, and is using a traditional wood-fired evaporator to boil down the syrup. “This year is a turning point for us,” he said. We decided to become part of the organization and get a little bit more publicity for ourselves and take part in the yearly tradition.” Andrew’s father, Todd, has been very supportive of his son’s efforts. “I just fan the flames any way that I can to see another generation on the family farm do something productive with it,” he said. “He’s the eighth or ninth generation on the farm and we’re glad to continue the good farming tradition that maple syrup is.”

For a list of the participating syrup producers and additional events for Maple in the County, please visit mapleinthecounty.ca.