Vermont Promotes Sixth Annual Maple Syrup Weekend

The Sixth Annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend will be held at sugarhouses throughout Vermont, March 23-25. The Open House Weekend is the public kick-off to the maple season in Vermont and an invitation to the public to visit one or more sugarhouses throughout the state. Visitors can watch maple syrup being made, sample and buy maple products, and enjoy the uniqueness of each sugarmaker. Approximately 100 sugarhouses will be open (a list of participating sugarhouses can be found at www.vermontmaple.org).

A tour of Vermont's sugarhouses reveals an enormous range of experiences. The sap is collected in buckets and brought by horse-drawn sled to the sugarhouse, where a wood-burning evaporator boils the sap down into maple syrup. To experience sugar making in its most traditional form, visit these farms: Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe; H. J. Howrigan & Sons, Fairfield; Bragg Farm Sugarhouse, East Montpelier; and the Corse Farm, Whitingham. Other sugarhouses are state of the art; the sap is brought to the sugarhouse by tubes strung throughout the forest, which is then boiled down into maple syrup using a high-tech reverse osmosis evaporator. For more information, call 800-837-6668 or visit www.vermontmaple.org.