The John R. Park Homestead’s sweet slate of spring events kicks off on March 7 & 8 with the region’s premier Maple Syrup Festival, happening from 11am to 4pm. The festival will have unique themes each day. On Saturday, Festival-goers are encouraged to don their best ‘lumberjack look’ complete with plaid jackets and fuzzy toques, as well as participate in the beard and moustache competition.

Essex - Feb. 22, 2020: The John R. Park Homestead’s sweet slate of spring events kicks off on March 7 & 8 with the region’s premier Maple Syrup Festival, happening from 11am to 4pm.

The festival will have unique themes each day. On Saturday, Festival-goers are encouraged to don their best ‘lumberjack look’ complete with plaid jackets and fuzzy toques, as well as participate in the beard and moustache competition. Day 1 also includes pioneer maple making, woodcarving and blacksmithing demonstrations, hands-on activities for children, taffy making in the snow, and more! All of this seasonal, outdoor activity is a perfect way to work up an appetite for a maple themed lunch, available at one of the event’s food service providers.

Sunday will feature all of the old-fashioned favourites, plus some popular, new activities, including The Backyard Maple Maker’s competition. Visitors will have the chance to have their homemade syrup judged by expert, award winning maple producer Jean Giffin and browse the Maple Market, which will have plenty of sweets and other local items for sale, as well as learn about the science behind maple.

“The taste of maple is just the start at this event,” says Kris Ives, the Homestead’s Curator. “Demonstrators will give our visitors unique insight into nineteenth century living and the long history of maple making in our region. The Maple Syrup Festival has something for everyone – hands-on crafts and activities for children, interesting pioneer-era demonstrations, sweet tastes of the early spring maple products, and much more.”

Admission is $4 per child, $6 per adult, and a $20 family maximum. Visitors are reminded to dress warmly, and to wear boots.

The museum’s maple themed events will continue during March Break, with Maple March Break for Families programs taking place on Tuesday, March 17th and repeated on Friday, March 20th, at 1:30pm sharp.

For more information, contact the Homestead: 519-738-2029, email: jrph@erca.org or visit www.essexregionconservation.ca/maple. For more than four decades, Essex Region Conservation has been sustaining and enriching the environment of the Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island region to ensure it is the Place for Life.