sweet syrup for sale at the elmira maple syrup festival
Did you know there is some sweet syrup for sale at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival two weeks from today? Yup, Elmira, Ontario is the place to be alongside 70 000 other maple syrup aficionados on April 1st (no joke!), 2023. Elmira is home to Canada’s largest maple syrup festival which is held on the first Saturday of April, rain or shine. It also holds the record for the World’s Largest Single-Day Maple Syrup Festival. In 2001, the Festival was proud to receive the Outstanding Philanthropic Action award from the Foundation for Rural Living.
The Elmira Maple Syrup Festival will warmly welcome more than 70 000 visitors to Elmira on April 1, 2023, which on a regular day boasts a population of approximately 11,000. Emma, Tessa, and I have made Elmira our home for the last year and find it a very welcoming, small-town community rich in Mennonite culture. Hearing the clip-clop of horses transporting their buggy-clad owners along their way is a daily reminder of a simpler time.
Outdoor Shopping Alley - Albert Street, Elmira, ON
Elmira shuts down Arthur Street, the main downtown corridor, to vehicular transportation and over 70 000 visitors are expected to walk up and down Arthur Street consuming all sorts of maple products such as maple fudge, maple taffy, maple candy, maple cookies – get the idea? But don’t fret savoury fans as BBQ’d sausage, turkey legs, pork on a bun, BBQ corn, Shawarma and plenty more tantalizing items are available for sale at the outdoor shopping mall.
Sweet Maple Syrup Treats
Long-standing and newbie vendors (including TwoDutchSisters at booth #93) will share their homemade wares along Arthur Street as has been the practice for almost 60 years. Besides the tantalizing food items, creative crafts, beeswax candles, woodworking projects, knitted products, clothing apparel, original jewelry and more are for sale. Many local businesses such as Elmira Pet Products, St. Jacobs & Aberfoyle Model Railway, and Flanagan Foodservice are sponsors of the special syrup day and all of these organizations work together alongside 2400+ volunteers who make this the World Class event it has become.
The Elmira Maple Syrup festival begins at 7:00 am and runs rain/shine/snow until 4:00 pm. My recommendation, based on 30+ years of sampling syrup-infused goodies in the spring, is to arrive early and park at the retail outlets just past Mcdonald’s, on Industrial Drive, and hitch a ride on tractor-driven wagons for a relaxing ride on hay bales to the main event. These festival shuttles provide free transportation back and forth to the vehicular parking spots throughout the day.
Rural Roots Brewery
If you are thirsty after your day of shopping or in the mood for some local music during the day be sure to drop by RuralRootsBrewery. Elmira’s local craft brewery, is located on Industrial Drive, where they create “craft beer that encourages people to slow down and savour the nuances of something special” and try a Schticky Ale as they host SCHTICKYFEST 2023.
Pancakes, Toys and Quilts
Besides the outdoor shopping mall, there are many other traditional activities throughout the day. The Toy Show and Sale gets an early start on Friday, March 31st from 4:30 pm – 9:30 pm and is located at the Lions Hall in Elmira. Some of the best pancakes ($5 each) you will ever eat will be on sale, covered with a coating of maple syrup, at 40 South Street West the next day, Saturday, April 1st with sausage and drinks both selling for $1 each by cash, credit, and debit. Please note the previous pancake station from their tented location on Arthur Street has moved and now both indoor and outdoor seating is available at Lions Hall.
If you are out shopping for toys and collectables Friday night then take a short walk down the road to Elmira District High School (EDSS) located at 4 University Avenue where crafts, collectibles, and beautiful hand-made Mennonite quilts will be for sale from 7:00-9:00 pm and again from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm on Saturday. Don’t forget to place a bid on the silent auction! While the downtown shopping corridor is free, there is a $3 charge to enter EDSS.
This year a separate children’s area will be set up and promises to be lots of family fun! In the past, there has been a petting zoo, educational animal displays, face painting, pony rides and more! On a housekeeping note, port-a-potties are available at the beginning of the street sale and public bathrooms are available at the Lion Hall and Elmira District High School
Maple Sugar Bush Tour
Wonder where all this ooey gooey sticky gold substance comes from? Then a trip to a local sugar bush is a must! Learn how the sugar maple trees are tapped, the sap gets collected and then boiled to create all of the maple goodness Ontarians consume approximately 4.7 times a month on our pancakes. We really do recommend a visit to one of the local farms for a quintessential Canadian family visit. Tour costs are $6 per adult (18+) and $4 for children (aged 3-17) with babies 2 years and younger free. The ticket booth and bus pick up/drop off are located at EDSS (4 University Avenue East). We are so fortunate to have several of Ontario’s 391 high-calibre maple farms harvesting sap locally.
The annual tree tapping ceremony was held in Perth County at Hoover’s Maple Syrup farm in Atwood on Friday, February 24th to mark the start of the 2023 maple syrup season. During the ceremony, Breslau’s Snyder Acre Farm was named producer of the year. This recognition is made even more exciting since it was Snyder’s first entry in the competition and came with commercial rewards as they will provide all of the syrup for next year’s Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, which could easily be 500 litres of syrup for all of us hungry pancake consumers! Check out, https://www.facebook.com/Snyder-Acres-105044907888666/ and sign up to receive future open house dates to visit their award-winning maple syrup farm.
According to a 2021 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada report, Ontario (3%) is the third-highest maple syrup producer in Canada following Quebec (92%) and New Brunswick (4%). The Canadian maple syrup industry accounts for approximately 75% of the world’s maple syrup production, with a production value of 14.3 million litres of golden syrup in Canada alone in 2020. Production and consumption of the sticky substance have continued to steadily grow over the last 15 years as more of us try to eat cleaner and more naturally.
Sweet Charity contributions
However, there is much more than meets the eye, to this fun festival celebrating the harvest of a local golden elixir. All proceeds from the pancake sales at Lions Hall, 10% of vendor sales from the outdoor shopping mall and various fundraising activities by the many local participating businesses go back to the local community in Elmira. These much-appreciated and needed funds support local charities and not-for-profit organizations like Elmira District Community Living, Woolwich Community Services, Woolwich Counselling Services, Child Witness Centre, Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and many more. As a matter of fact, the total monies raised for community groups and food banks have surpassed the 1.7 million dollar mark. That is a lot of golden sunshine for so many dearly deserving folks. Come out and join us on Saturday, April 1st, 2023 (no joke :)) in Elmira, Ontario for a sweet maple syrup celebration.
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