First tapping of sweet season happens next week

Maple trees in the area will soon release their sweet goodness. Cosmos file photo

Lisha Van Nieuwenhove

The snow may yet be blowing, but the promise of spring comes next Saturday, Feb. 28 when the Haliburton-Kawartha Maple Syrup Producers host their first “Tapping Ceremony: The Kickoff to Spring” at Pefferlaw Creek Farms.

This first tapping ceremony marks the start of maple syrup season, and is a time-honoured ritual in sugar making celebrated across Ontario to kick off the season. Pefferlaw Creek Farms is one of Central Ontario’s largest producers of maple syrup, with 56,000 taps in four forests spread through out the Haliburton-Kawartha Region. The use of vacuumed lines in the bush and modern technology such as reverse osmosis in the sugar shack has helped Pefferlaw Creek Farms double in size over the past 10 years. They now run an annual Maple Syrup Festival at their Uxbridge location at 12300 Conc. 6, which features live bands, bush tours and of course pancakes smothered in maple syrup!

At the tapping ceremony, visitors are invited to witness the official tapping of a maple tree; hear remarks from Pefferlaw Creek Farms owner John Tomory and committee chair Brian Bartley; get a tour of the “sugar shack,” and enjoy light refreshments. The event begins at 10 a.m.

Haliburton-Kawartha Maple Syrup Producers is a committee within the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association. It has more then 50 members spread through the Region of Durham, the Counties of Peterborough and Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes. Both the committee and the provincial organization look to “better the maple syrup industry in Ontario by educating and advocating for our members and about our members through member and non member workshops and community events.”