(Submitted by Wood Soil & Water Conservation District)
It’s that time of year for the Annual Maple Syrup Festival and this year it will be even bigger as the Northwest Ohio Woodland & Wildlife Family Festival joins the event on Saturday, March 25. The fun begins at the Williams County Fairgrounds in Montpelier, Ohio. Bring your family and friends to see a sugar shack in operation, enjoy pancakes with real maple syrup, and numerous additional educational events.
Events start at 8:00 a.m. and continue until noon in the Gillette Building with pancakes and sausage prepared by the Williams County Fair Foundation and Williams County Pork Producers topped with “real” maple syrup provided by the Northwest Ohio Maple Syrup Producers. Breakfast will be served starting at 7:30 a.m. and there will be 2 serving lines to better serve those attending. Handicap parking will be available at the Gillette Building. Both the east and west entrances will be open.
Horse-drawn wagons (weather permitting) and tractor-drawn wagons will be on hand for rides across the covered bridge to the sugar shack. The sugar shack is complete with a stainless evaporator, holding tank and filtering unit. See the tree tapping process of gathering the sap and the boiling process in the evaporator until the sap becomes syrup.
The ‘Woodland’ events of the festival will include a portable sawmill demonstration, the ‘dos and don’ts’ of chainsaw and logging safety, NW Ohio Woodland Owners Association and the Loggers Chapter, samples of native hardwoods. John Mueller and Joe Puperi, Division of Forestry, will be available to answer all your tree and forestry questions!
The ‘Wildlife’ events will include two exhibits of pelts and animal mounts from local taxidermists, find out about trapping and the fur trade, see live raptors from Nature’s Nursery, learn about bees and beekeeping, see live reptiles, make rope the old-fashioned way, learn about wildlife and programs from the Division of Wildlife, Pheasants Forever, restoration and hunting of wild turkeys from the National Wild Turkey Federation, the ‘Worm’s World’, talk with a State Park Naturalist about nature, and find out the latest on invasive species in our area from Amy Stone.
There will also be representatives and educational displays from the following organizations: Williams County Master Gardeners, Montpelier Tree Commission, meet ‘Johnny Appleseed’, what is a ‘CSA’, leaf casting, nature photography, Schedel Gardens, the ‘Native Indian syrup story’, Project Learning Tree, and displays from the Northwest Ohio Soil & Water Conservation District display, Maumee River Water Trail, and Toledo Metroparks.
The Williams Soil & Water Conservation District will have tree seedlings for sale during their annual seedling sale.
The Northwest Ohio Maple Syrup Producers will have real maple syrup that can be purchased along with fresh-spun maple cotton candy, maple candy, and other maple products. Poppin’ George will have fresh popped ‘kettle corn’ to purchase.
So bring your family and friends to the Williams County Fairgrounds in Montpelier on Saturday, March 25, for a fun-filled morning while enjoying “real” maple syrup, pancakes and sausage, plus loads of woodland and wildlife fun! There is no charge for the events or entry to the fairgrounds. There is a charge for the breakfast.
This event is being sponsored by the Northwest Ohio Maple Syrup Producers, Williams County Fair Foundation, Williams County Fair Board, Williams Soil and Water Conservation District, Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Northwestern Ohio, The Ohio State University Extension of Williams County, Williams County Pork Producers, and Superior Farm Supply.
If you would like more information, contact the Williams Soil and Water Conservation District at 419-636-9395 ext. 3 or 419-636-2349 Ext 3 or visit northwestohiomaplesyrupproducers.com.
