One of the things I love about writing this blog is that over the years I’ve grown increasingly aware of the subtle rhythms of New England agricultural life. I know that pick-your-own season officially opens with strawberries in June, that fresh berries and stone fruits start to top pancakes in local eateries in early July, and that corn mazes spring up anew each September. You can always catch a hayride (preferably to a pumpkin patch!) in October and the holiday season brings with it a chance to harvest a Christmas tree the old fashioned way.
But one of my favorite discoveries has been the brief (blink and you’ll miss it!) season of Maple Sugaring that generally happens late February into March. So I thought we’d put together a short list of fun ways to enjoy this short season! It’s going to be a tasty month 🙂
March 1st, 2020 from 1:30-2:30pm: The Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut in Niantic hosts Family Maple Sugaring. Learn about the process of making maple syrup including a lesson on how to tap a maple tree at the Museum. Includes a craft for the children and maple tasting for everyone. $12 fee per family for program; Non-members pay per person Museum admission to stay and play after program. (Not included in online ticket.) OAAM Venue Preview; Website; Facebook Page
March 7th, 2020 at 9:00am & 10:30am: Auerfarms in Bloomfield hosts their annual pancake breakfast! Enjoy a formal pancake brunch with fluffy pancakes, farm-raised pork and sweet Auerfarm maple syrup followed by a tour of their maple sugaring process. Visit the maple trees to see how they are tapped and the sap is collected, then it’s off to the sugarhouse to see the boiling down process. An outdoor hot cocoa bar will warm you during the sugaring tour (and sledding if weather permits will also be available). OAAM Venue Preview; Website; Facebook Page
March 7th-8th, 2020 from 11:00am-3:00pm: The Stamford Museum & Nature Center hosts its annual Maple Sugar Festival Weekend featuring tons of activities for families, including traditional favorites like maple syrup tastings (they make their very own maple syrup from the 200+ mature maple trees on their 118-acre campus!) and tree tapping demonstrations, and new offerings like indoor sock skating, an indoor game zone, and breakfast all day at their “All Day Pancake Café!” Enjoy animal interactions, face painting, planetarium shows, live music, children’s crafts and games, and more! OAAM Venue Preview; Website; Facebook Page
March 8th, 2020 from 2:00-3:00pm: Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton offers their annual Maple Sugaring in Your Own Backyard demonstration teaching you how to make maple syrup the easy way. They’ll cover the entire process from identifying the tree to the best part – tasting the final product. OAAM Venue Preview; Website; Facebook Page
March 14th, 2020 from 8:30 to 11:30am: The New Canaan Nature Center hosts its annual syrup season celebration, Syrup Saturday: A Pancakes & PJs Party! Bring the whole family to this maple-themed event complete with TONS of fun syrup-related activities! They’ll be serving up flapjacks, syrup, and an array of tasty toppings in the Visitor Center, while leading tree tapping demos, a real maple sap “boil down,” campfire with marshmallows, and a real v. fake syrup taste test. All are welcome and encouraged to dress in their PJs! While this event’s pancakes & pjs party is indoors, all other activities take place outdoors. Pre-registration is mandatory as seating is extremely limited. OAAM Venue Preview; Website; Facebook Page
March 15th, 2020 from 1:00-4:00pm: Maple Sugar Madness at the Welles-Shipman-Ward House in Glastonbury is another event high on our “to go” list. Visit the 1755 River Mansion and watch as they tap the maple trees and demonstrate syrup making in the outdoor fire pit. Tour the house and barns, sample pancakes made on the colonial hearth and smother them with syrup made from their maple trees! Admission: $5, Children under 10 free, Free to members of the Historical Society. Website
March 21st-22nd, 2020 from 10:00am-4:00pm: Although the OAAM crew has not officially visited the Hebron Maple Festival, a list of maple sugaring activities seems incomplete without it! We’ve had LOTS of friends recommend this annual event to us and it’s definitely on our “to blog about” list. Visit local sugar houses for demonstrations, browse maple syrup and maple syrup products, and enjoy many other family-friendly activities. If you head there yourself, we’d love to know what you think! Website
March 28th, 2020 from 8:00-11:00am: Make sure you’re hungry when you head to Northwest Park in Windsor for the 30th annual Friends of Northwest Park Pancake Breakfast in the warming shed! There will be pancakes and sausage smothered in 100% pure maple syrup made right at Windsor’s very own Northwest Park. You can also check out their new sugar house, which will be open through March 28th. Pancake Breakfast is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for children under 12. Children under 3 eat free! OAAM Venue Preview; Website; Facebook Page
Ongoing: Lamothe’s Sugar House in Burlington, one of the state’s largest local syrup producers, offers FREE tours of their sugar house on weekends in late February and March from 1:00-4:00pm. Enjoy complimentary maple-flavored coffee and treats, taste different varieties of syrup, learn about the syrup-making process and witness the sap being boiled down into maple syrup! Plus browse the adorable gift shop for tons of maple treats. OAAM Blog Post; Website; Facebook Page
Ongoing: While we were visiting Hurst Farm in Andover for their annual fall hayride a few years back we noticed that this picturesque family farm also has a working sugar house that’s open for tours during the maple season. Tours are weather permitting (and depending on whether or not the sap is running ) so call ahead to make sure they are producing syrup. (860) 646-6536 OAAM Venue Preview; Facebook Page
Looking for even more maple fun? Check out the Maple Syrup Producers of Connecticut’s website for a brochure of CT sugar houses that are open to the public and this list of places where you can buy pure CT maple syrup.
Originally posted on 2/27/20; please be sure to check each venue’s website for any event updates or schedule changes.
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