Maple Syrup Festivals in Ontario (2018): Enjoy Sugar Bush Fun
Maple Syrup Farm Events and Festivals in South Western Ontario.
With the onset of the snowmelt and arrival of warmer temperatures, we can look forward to Canada’s earliest and sweetest harvest of the season.
Maple Syrup season is here !
With 85 percent of the maple syrup produced in Canada, our country is the world’s largest exporter of Maple syrup. And although the vast majority of Canada’s maple syrup originates in Quebec forests, there are a number of productive sugar bushes found right here in Ontario.
Learn about the natural history of maple syrup and travel back to First Nations and settlers time when Maple Syrup was harvested and cooked over an open fire.
Maple Syrup Festivals in Southwestern Ontario
Below is a list of popular and annual Maple Syrup Festivals. Some offer free admission or entry with a donation. Conservation areas may ask for entrance fees. Please follow the links to find out about the 2018 admission costs! Also, scroll down below and read more about Maple Syrup grades, how Maple Syrup is made and get Maple Syrup fun facts!
Maple Weekend: April 7 ~ 8, 2018 from 10 AM to 4 PM. Get a taste of Ontario Maple syrup during the yearly event hosted by Ontario Maple Syrup Producers. Experience first-hand how maple products are produced, from tree to table, and sample quality maple products. Of course, there will also be pancake breakfasts, sugar making demonstrations, horse-drawn sleigh rides, taffy on snow and more.
Festivals from A-z
Aylmer Maple Syrup Festival, Annual Springwater Conservation Area Maple Syrup Festival. Stop by on weekends (Saturday, March 3rd to Sunday, March 25th) and throughout MarchBreak (March 12th – 16th). Tour a sugar shanty and learn how Maple Syrup is made. Take a horse-drawn wagon ride to the Pancake House!
Elmira Maple Syrup Festival.April 7th, 7 am till 4 pm. Visit the World’s Largest One Day Maple Syrup Festival ( as Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. Enjoy Live Local Performers, BuskersBrowse handmade crafts, and other unique goods; taste apple fritters,
ee the old-fashioned way of boiling down the sap and sample unforgettable maple syrup toffee! proceeds went to 32 charities/non-profits.
Rockton Westfield Heritage Village Maple Syrup Festival The Maple syrup Festival is happening on Sundays: March 4, 11, 18, & 25 and March Break Days: Wednesday, March 14 & Thursday, March 15 and Good Friday: March 30. Events run from – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Your family will discover have maple syrup was made in the early to mid-19th century. Take a stroll through the woods to Westfield’s sugar shack and sample Westfield’s unique maple syrup, made in a modern evaporator. There are also wagon rides drawn by an antique tractor, wood cutting activities and an affordable pancake breakfast, hosted by the St. George Lions Club.
image credit https://commons.wikimedia.org
GTA, Toronto Area
Bronte Creek Provincial Park – Burlington – Maple Syrup Festival, every weekend in March 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily through March Break. Enjoy Heritage Museum guided historical tours of maple syrup production, children’s activities,
Mississauga Bradley Museum – Maple Magic
Mountsberg Maple Town (Halton) – open on weekends, holidays and March Break – until April 6, 2015. Demonstrations,free samples, hot pancakes, Play Barn, Raptor Demons, view wildlife, guided wagon rides through the sugar bush
Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival – Oshawa March 14 to 22 (March Break) Weekend: March 28 & 29. Pancakes, Sugar Shack, Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides, Kids Craft
Willowgrove Farm, Stouffville – March 28th – Maple Fest, Sugar Shack, Demonstrations, Crafts, Puppet Show, Campfire, Wagon Rides
source: www.facebook.com/OntarioMapleSyrup
Maples Syrup Grades
The Canadian Government requires all Maple Syrup producers to grade their products by colour before they are being sold. The bottle/packages must be labeled with the graded by colour. As seen in the image above, there are four maple syrup grades and the darker the syrups colour, the stronger the itsflavour.
The Canadian maple syrup grades are as follows:
- Golden: with a mild and sweet taste and at least. This one is most often used for topping pancakes, crepes and ice cream 75% Light Transmission
- Amber: Has a rich and stronger maple taste, often used in cooking and baking with 50% to 74% Light Transmission
- Dark, Robust Taste often used by factories for producing Maple candy products or making molasses. 25% to 49 Light Transmission
- Very Dark, Strong Taste less than 25% Light Transmission
source: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMapleSyrupInstitute
Maple Syrup Fun Facts
Here are some cool facts about Maple Syrup!
- Pure maple syrup is made from Maple tree sap unlike the “pancake syrups” like Aunt Jemima, etc, which only contain high fructose corn syrup.
- Unopened Maple Syrup bottles (glass) can keep 50 years or longer on your shelf. Maple syrup in tins and plastic should be used within 2 years for plastic and 6 month maximum for tin.
5 Facts that prove Maple Syrup is healthier than sugar
Just like white sugar, corn syrup or glucose, Maple syrup is a sweetener and in that regard eating a lot of sugar is never a good idea.
However, if you are using Maple Syrup for instead your regular breakfast syrup or using it for to replace replacing refined sugar in baked goods, it’s a healthier option and here is why. Maple syrup has higher levels of nutrients and antioxidants:
- Maple syrup contains high amount of Manganese and zinc
- Maple syrup also contains Calcium, Potassium: and Iron
- Maple syrup has a lower glycemic index than refined sugar (54 versus 65)m which means that your blood sugar will not climb as drastically than with regular sugar products.
- Maple sap contains Phenolic acids, a natural antioxidant that helps fight inflammation
How does your family enjoy Canadian Maple syrup and have you been to a Sugar shack lately?
Please leave a comment below and if you know someone who will enjoy this article, please share! 🙂
