Tap into the Sap at the 26th Annual Maple Syrup Festival
Release Date: 03/07/07
Learn all there is to know about maple syrup by attending the 26th Annual Maple Syrup Festival, March 17-18 from 10am to 3pm at the North Park Village Nature Center, located at 5801 N. Pulaski Road.
“The Maple Syrup Festival is one of the North Park Village Nature Center’s most popular events of the year,” said Timothy J. Mitchell, the general superintendent and chief executive officer of the Chicago Park District. “This festival is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to tap into the beauty of nature while learning about the origins of maple syrup.”
The nature center, which is operated by the Chicago Park District, will offer music and storytelling throughout the day. Visitors can try drilling small holes into trees by hand, watch as the sap boils and sample real maple syrup on hot pancakes.
There will be guided nature walks to the sugar bush, where visitors will learn about the tapping process and enjoy stories of maple tree tapping folklore. Pancakes with real maple syrup will be available for sale along with hot beverages.
Visitors will be able to peruse the farmer’s market, where vendors will have hand-made soaps, salsas, wool sweaters, jams & jellies, apples, organic cookies and much more.
Elementary school children from throughout the city who participate in North Park Village Nature Center programs started planning for the Maple Syrup Festival in mid-February. Equipped with hand drills, spiles and buckets, the children helped by tapping holes into Sugar Maple trees to release the flow of sap. More than 1,000 children and families visited the nature center in February and March to learn about the ancient and modern process of syrup making.
Approximately 40 trees in the nature preserve were tapped to collect the watery sap. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.
The North Park Village Nature Center is the Chicago’s only nature center. The Chicago Park District offers a variety of opportunities to explore nature in its 56 nature areas with its vast array of lagoons, wetlands, prairies, woodlands, river edges, bird sanctuaries, dunes and wildlife gardens. The North Park Village Nature Center’s nature preserve is open seven days a week, year round. Admission is free.
- Contact Phone: 312 742 7529
- Publication Date: 03/07/07