MANNSVILLE, N.Y. — Ready for a taste of fresh, sweet, pure New York maple syrup. . . Looking for pancake breakfasts, sugarhouse tours, tapping ceremonies, Sap Run, and other special events at maple sites in Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida and Oswego counties?
Maple producers in the four-county region have announced their 2017 Maple Weekends tree tapping ceremonies and special events with free tastings, tours, syrup and confection-making demonstrations, recipes and treats for sale on March 18-19 and 25-26. Dress appropriately for weather and walking.
Check listings in the free 2017 Maple Weekends brochure for the four counties at www.mapleweekend.com for directions and to see which days the various sites are open from 10 am to 4 pm. The brochure is available at county Chambers of Commerce and Cooperative Extension offices, and by mail from Lewis Region Maple Weekend Coordinator Marcia Rudd at ruddsmaple@yahoo.com.
Free-to-attend 2017 Maple Weekends tree tapping ceremonies by county are:
- JEFFERSON COUNTY: Saturday, March 18, 11 am, Massey Ranch, 20605 Combs Road, Watertown
- LEWIS COUNTY: Saturday, March 25, 11 am, Yancey’s Sugarbush, 7981 Long Pond Road, Croghan; special guests include NYS Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball and NYS Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush
- ONEIDA COUNTY: Saturday, March 18, 11 am, Tibbitts Maple, 8874 Tibbitts Road, New Hartford; special guests include NYS Assemblyman Brian D. Miller
- ONEIDA COUNTY: Sunday, March 26, 11 am, V.V.S. High School, 5275 State Route 31, Verona; hosted by the award-winning V.V.S. FFA Chapter
- OSWEGO COUNTY: Saturday, March 18, 2 pm, Red Schoolhouse Maple, 2437 County Route 4, Fulton.
The 2017 Maple Weekends participating sugarhouses, open all four days unless noted; pancake breakfasts; and special events by county include:
JEFFERSON COUNTY:
Dexter: Farmhouse Maple, 14685 Bay Breeze Way, 315.486.5981. One of the region’s newer sugarhouses, state-of-the-art technology, tasting, family fun activities, wagon rides.
Mannsville: Rudd’s Family Maple Syrup, 16370 Balch Place, 315.405.1479. Making syrup since 1921. Sugarbush tour with forest management plan, saphouse boiling demo, samples.
Mannsville: 3rd Annual Sap Run and Pancake Breakfast, Saturday, March 25, 9 am, race starts at South Jefferson elementary school, US Route 11. Timed event for serious runners, family run/walk. Pancake breakfast at Methodist Church, Lorraine Street. Benefits local school and church; 315.222.8126.
Watertown: Massey Ranch, 20605 Combs Road, 315.786.5939. Tree-to-table education. Maple candy, cotton candy, cream demos. Free hayrides. Products include maple BBQ, maple water.
LEWIS COUNTY:
Castorland: Swiss’er Sweet Maple, 6242 Swiss Road, 315.346.1034. Easy access sugar shanty, county’s 1st Maple Weekend participant. Tasting. Signature maple and maple walnut cream cheeses.
Copenhagen: Moser’s Mapleridge Farm, 3981 Wilson Road, 315.688.2518, March 18, 25 only. 5000-plus taps. Weather-permitting wagon ride to sugarbush, try snowshoes and gathering sap.
Croghan: American Maple Museum & Pancake Breakfast, 9756 State Route 812, 315.346.1107. Breakfast with maple coffee both weekends 7 am to 12 pm, fee. Three-floor museum and gift shop open to 4 pm.
Croghan: Moser’s Maple, 9609 Croghan Reservoir Road, 315.346.6628. Since 1904; created the Maple Mini, the first and currently only trademarked hard maple candy in the U.S. Walk-it tour.
Croghan: Pierce’s Sugar Spigot, 11603 Route 812, 315.543.2980. Three generations, 40-plus years of syrup experience; buckets, sap bags, tubing on vacuum. Tours, lots of maple confections.
Croghan: Yancey’s Sugarbush, 7981 Long Pond Road, 315.346.6356, March 18, 25 only. Traditional methods since 1844, 6,000 taps, horse teams collecting sap or giving hayrides.
ONEIDA COUNTY:
Clinton: Shaw’s Maple Products, 7945 Maxwell Road, 315.725.0547. Sugarhouse tours, samples, recipes, making maple cotton candy. Stir your own maple cream to taste.
New Hartford: Tibbitts Maple, 8874 Tibbitts Road, 315.793.3114. Began with Friend Tibbitts at family homestead; today, 6-year-old hauls firewood for evaporator in toy trucks.
Verona: V.V.S. FFA Maple Market at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, 5275 State Route 31, 315.335.0887. Pancake breakfast 7:30 am-12 pm, fee. Saphouse-sugarbush tours 9 am-3 pm, 10 am: Maple Queen and Princess cooking demo.
OSWEGO COUNTY:
Fulton: Red Schoolhouse Maple, 2437 County Route 4, 315.243.1024. Pancake breakfast 8 am-1 pm, fee. Free tours, sugarmaking movie, coloring, samples:10:30 am-4 pm.
Hannibal: Maple Hill Farm, 86 Guernsey Road, 315.593.2396. Wear boots to walk sugarbush woods. See oil-fired arch and steamaway, syrup making and bottling since 2001.
Hannibal: Maple Hollow Farm, 1309 County Route 85, 315.564.7133. Free basket raffles. Self-guided sugarbush tour. Meet Emma the Big Brown Cow.
Mexico: Yardley Maple, 524 County Route 64, 315.380.1416. See sap filling holding tanks in sugarhouse, filters, reverse osmosis, you-try-it tapping demo in sugarhouse, samples.
—Lewis Region Maple Weekends
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