Maple Weekend

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by Kelly Aspen (subscribe)

Event: 27/03/2010

When the days heat up but the nights stay cool, maple trees are ripe for tapping. This weekend, toast the start of another maple syrup season as New York state celebrates Maple Weekend this Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28.

Though your mind may first think of Vermont for maple syrup, New York is slowly grabbing its share of the market, and the praise! Over 1500 maple syrup producers operate in the state, creating more than 350,000 gallons of the gooey good stuff in 2009 (third only to Vermont and Maine). New York's maple business is on the rise!

Fifteen years ago, producers in Wyoming County held a small Sunday celebration which has now grown, some fifteen years later, into a two-weekend, state-wide affair, known as Maple Weekend, and sponsored by the New York State Maple Producers Association. Throughout the state, maple producers invite you to watch the whole process—from tapping to processing to tasting. Although technology has changed throughout hundreds of years of maple-tapping history, it is still one of nature's purest bounties.

Sample maple syrup, maple sugar, maple cream, maple tea, and maple coffee. But nothing goes with maple syrup like a hot stack of buttermilk pancakes. Don't miss the highlight of any Maple Weekend—a pancake breakfast. Find a location on the list of Official Maple Weekend Pancake Breakfasts.

See the Locations map to find farms and events throughout the state. Some of the closest to New York City are Hummingbird Ranch in Staatsburg, Niese's Maple Farm in Putnam Valley, and Remsburger Maple Farm & Apiary in Rhinebeck. Make a mini-maple-vacation, including hotel, meals, and tours, with a Maple Weekend Tour Package.