Maple Syrup Festival draws hundreds

With smoke in the air and sausages on the grill you'd think it was summertime but instead it was a sweet way to start off your day and top off your pancakes.

This weekend the Indian Creek Nature Center is celebrating its annual Maple Syrup Festival as hundreds of hungry people enjoyed a pancake breakfast and learned a little about homemade maple syrup.

“There's nothing better than maple syrup,” Jan Aiels, a naturalist at the nature center, said. “The syrup we make here is the real stuff, from maple trees.”

Visitors could watch tree-tapping demonstrations while spending time with family and friends.

Other demonstrations about the Pioneers and the center's Sugar House brought a new learning experience for many families.

“We came out here today for the children to learn how well they have it because the Native Americans didn't have it as well as we do,” a visitor Gayle Tubbs said.

The sap in maple syrup is high in water content. In order to enhance the syrup's flavor, the sap's water content has to be boiled down. This process takes time and money

It can take up to 30 to 50 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of maple syrup.

This process is harder than what most can imagine and made many visitors appreciate it even more.

“We spent some time in the sugar house and learned really how much time and sap goes into making maple syrup,” Laura Saylor, a first-time visitor, said. “It's just interesting information.”

But the festival wasn't just about homemade maple syrup and pancakes.

“It's a really fun event for celebrating the end of winter and welcoming spring,” Aiels said. “When maple syrup runs, spring is here.”

- By Tiffany Hung, KCRG-TV9