Scenes of Vermont Forums

Happy Winter to all of you Vermont maple syrup lovers! The Sweet Season is about to unfold and we are just 8 weeks away from the Vermont Open House Weekend, Mar 21, 2020 - Mar 22, 2020. Sugaring season for me, is right up there with Vermont Fall Foliage and each year, we go to the outstanding open house weekend locations in Southern Vermont. Last year, we hit 8 sugarhouses in one day and the weather was perfect. This year, we are hoping to surge ahead further north to south central Vermont to hit some new sugaring operations. If you have any favorites that you can recommend, please do! Otherwise, we will wait until the map comes out in February of participating sugaring houses. I always love to stop at an operation that has horse drawn sleigh rides (weather permitting) as part of their celebration. And I have to have that amazing sugar on snow!

Just a little repeat from my post last season:

"What I love the most about visiting Vermont's sugar houses is not only the tasting/buying of their finished products, but it is their pride and delight shared with visitors when they showcase their sugaring process. I feel like family as soon as we enter the facilities. Moreover, the comradery shared with their fellow sugar makers is so special! Maple sugaring season is such a festive event, I can never get enough of it all."

Stay tuned for more updates from their site! We will be hitting some Western Mass sugarhouses before then because I CANNOT resist the call of the aroma of boiling maple syrup wafting off of the evaporator! We recently passed a sugarer fixing his lines in NW CT and it just made me even more excited for open house weekend!

https://vermontmaple.org/maple-open-house-weekend

For those who plan on traveling to New Hampshire for sugaring weekend, here is their website! It appears that their annual weekend is the same as Vermont's Open House Weekend! Maybe even hit both states!

https://nhmapleproducers.com/maple-month/

I will be updating Vermont's Open House Weekend soon, as well as the Massachusetts' Maple Weekend - their Maple Weekend 2020 will be March 21-22. Details will be posted in mid-February. I have been to several sugarhouses in south central Mass and they are fantastic! (My go to sugaring operation close by is Maple Corner Farm in Granville, MA. A divine breakfast there does not disappoint!)

https://www.massmaple.org/

Who doesn't love all things maple! Let's support our local sugarmakers and get in the spirit of our sweetest season, just a few weeks away!

And yet another annual Vermont maple celebration event in St. Albans, a bit later in the season. Not to be missed! Ahhh yes, the pancake breakfast looks to be wonderful!

https://www.vermontmaplefestival.com/

APRIL 24, 25, 26 2020

"The 54th Vermont Maple Festival is a celebration of Vermont’s first agricultural crop of the year: Maple Syrup. The three-day event is held annually in St. Albans Vermont. Come explore Spring in Vermont and the many Maple Exhibits and food demonstrations, Parade, live entertainment for the family, an Antique Show, Craft & Specialty Food Show and so much more."

I'm getting geared up and very excited for my upcoming trips to MA and VT just a few short weeks away. Celebrating Valentine's Weekend with a stop at the first weekend opening of the Maple Corner Farm pancake breakfast at their sugaring house in Granville, MA on the 15th.

Maine has a wonderful website for their sugaring open house weekend as well. March certainly looks busy with all the celebrations!

https://mainemapleproducers.com/events# ... unday-2020

https://mainemapleproducers.com/maine-m ... ectory/map

Still waiting for the lists of participating sugarhouses for Vermont and I believe it will be out any day now. Same for Mass Maple! Stay tuned.....

Alas, I could not hold out any longer to feed my maple syrup obsession, so this past Sunday, we drove to SW MA for our first pancake breakfast with oodles of maple syrup smothered on top! Love blueberries in my pancakes! It was divine, and sitting next to the wood burning stove was great. Unfortunately, they were not boiling sap in his sugarhouse due to recent weather extremes. The owner feels that in two weeks, there will be enough sap for a boil so we shall return!

The drive out into the lower Berkshires was so beautiful, albeit, only traces of snow. We are still in a holding pattern for winter down here and it was 50 today! I saw a few buds ready to pop on my walk today and it just feels so abnormal. We have only had two small snowfalls this year and the grass is turning green on some lawns in northern CT. I'm also wondering how this pattern will affect the sugaring in southern New England..... A lot of the trees we saw were not tapped yet but I am confident that it will turn around and it will be a great maple season in the northeast.

I bought a new griddle and this weekend, I can't wait to use my maple syrup that I bought at the Peacham Fall Festival last year. Pancakes and french toast it is! Still looking forward to my sugarhouse loops in MA and VT!

Whitingham, VT - The schedule for the Maple Festival is up as well as the sugarhouses that are participating. Not to be missed!

https://whitingham-maplefest.weebly.com ... vents.html

https://whitingham-maplefest.weebly.com ... ouses.html

https://whitingham-maplefest.weebly.com/

Yum......I am getting hungry just reading this. Wish I was in the area, I would go to several!! Thanks for sharing all the info CT. Have fun

Hi Colorado Mom! Thanks for popping in here during the off season. You can still savor that Vermont maple syrup on your breakfast delights from all your trips to Vermont where I think you bought quite a bit!

Stay tuned for more updates, one of which will follow here. I'm pretty sure the sap was flowing today too. In the meantime, I'm going to test out my new griddle this week!

What a fascinating article from Forbes on Runamok Maple from 2/18/20. I've never tried flavor infused maple syrup but now I am intrigued and will look for their product when I'm up north. Has anyone tried any of their flavors? New one coming out in March!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/claudiaala ... a78f173738

Alas! Adding another New England state to the mix for the ever popular maple sugaring weekend in March. My own home state of Connecticut is holding their first open house weekend. Very exciting! I've already pegged a few to visit on that very busy March weekend so CT and MA one day and VT the next! I've been to a few in CT last year and I can recommend a couple of good ones if anyone has any further interest.

http://www.ctmaple.org/

http://www.ctmaple.org/maple-weekend.html

Excellent map and/or brochure:

http://www.ctmaple.org/sugar-houses-ope ... ublic.html

Greetings maple syrup lovers! The Vermont map of sugaring houses for the March sugaring open house weekend is now available

https://vermontmaple.org/mohw

Just a few short weeks away!

ta da! and here are the participating sugarhouses for Massachusetts that just went up!

https://www.massmaple.org/buy-maple-syr ... e-weekend/

https://www.massmaple.org/sugarhouse-restaurants/

The season kickoff will be Friday, March 6, at 10:00 a.m. at Sunrise Farms in Colrain. Join us as Commissioner Lebeaux taps the ceremonial first tree of the season.

Let the fun begin! Happy sugaring season to all! Support New England sugar makers and enjoy your maple syrup! CT

Vermont sugarmakers comment on the season's first boil!

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/sto ... 901376002/

The Poultney Area Chamber of Commerce is showcasing their very own maple fest (held also during the annual VT Maple Open House Weekend) stock full of events! So much going on, it is going to be an amazing maple celebration 2020 in Vermont. I won't be in the Poultney area as we decided to hit SW VT for their sugarhouses open in Shaftsbury and along the route 7 corridor. They will also have sugarhouses open in the area for tours. Hope some of you can attend Poultney's event!

https://www.poultneyareachamber.com/eve ... lebration/'

Here is the pdf to print and take with you:

https://www.poultneyareachamber.com/wp- ... s-2020.pdf