Sticky situation: Vermont’s sweetest season peaks on sugaring weekend

By DAWSON RASPUZZI Herald Staff

No matter where in Vermont you are this weekend, save some room for sweets.

Maple doughnuts, cotton candy, cookies, sugar on snow and pancakes — drenched in maple syrup of course — are just some of the common treats that will be offered at sugar houses across every county of Vermont this weekend.

The seventh annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend runs from Friday to Sunday at nearly 100 participating maple sugaring farms at varying times for one, two or all three of the days.

Receiving a “Top-10 Winter Event” citing by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce last winter, the weekend offers Vermonters and outsiders a chance to tour a local sugar farm and watch the sugaring process up close.

Most participating sugarhouses offer guided tours, demonstrations, educational background information and the reason many come of course — the delicious samples.

Robert Baird and his wife, Bonnie, who own Baird Farm in North Chittenden, will be offering a variety of sample maple products as they have the past three Open House Weekends. The Bairds will also be showing off the modern sugarhouse, demonstrating reverse osmosis and steam-a-way they use in the sugaring process.

As long as the weather cooperates, the Bairds will be boiling during their open house from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. If the weather does not reach the upper 30s to mid-40s, Baird said there may not be enough sap to boil. “We’re certainly going to be open and hopefully the weather cooperates so we can boil some syrup,” Baird said.

Each successive year Baird Farm has opened its doors for the Open House Weekend, the sugarhouse has been better attended. “Every year we seem to get more people,” Baird said. “Last year we had well over 100 people visit in one afternoon so we’re doing two this year.”

Baird said his sugarhouse has produced around 600 gallons of syrup so far this season, which traditionally starts around Town Meeting Day in early March.

In the last week, the sap flow has slowed down as temperatures have dropped a few degrees during the days, although the season has been pretty good so far, he said. “The deciding factor will be the weather in the next two to three weeks.”

Jeff Smith, the owner of Maple Crest Farm in Shrewsbury, said he’s faced a similar situation, where little sap has been collected after an early March steam.

The public is invited to Maple Crest Farm from noon to 4 p.m. all three days, when Smith says he’s hoping everyone will see syrup being made. “We’ll definitely be making syrup Sunday, Friday and Saturday. We’ll see how the weather is,” Smith said.

Smith’s open house will be laid back — the public can tour the farm themselves, sample warm syrup minutes after it’s finished and talk about sugaring, he said.

“It’s pretty much a self-guided tour, people come to me and I point them in the direction for a great view,” he said.

In Belmont, those who attend Hedgehog Hill Maple Farm on Saturday or Sunday will get a guided tour owner Ron Burns said will be fun and informative for people curious about the steps of sugar making.

Beginning at the maples tapped in the woods, Burns allows people to see the sap flow to the reverse osmosis machine where much of the water is removed from the sap. The tour doesn’t end until syrup is drained from the evaporator and bottled, Burns said.

Burns expects everyone at the sugarhouse this weekend will witness the process, saying as of Tuesday the trees were producing a steady sap flow — which he expects to continue on through April.

The Open House Weekend at Burns’ farm is intended for all ages to enjoy, and to make sure they all do, he’ll offer sample-sized pancakes topped with fresh syrup.

Catherine Stevens, marketing director for the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association and Vermont Maple Foundation, suggests people visit more than one sugarhouse this weekend, as each one differs in their sugar-making process and what they offer.

Many sugarhouses offer activities for children, earning the citing of “Top-25 Events for Kids” by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

A complete list of participating sugarhouses, as well as directions and information about what each is offering over the weekend, can be found online at www.vermontmaple.org/open-house.html or inside the 2008 Vermont Ski and Maple Map at any Vermont Welcome Center.

Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at dawson.raspuzzi@rutlandherald.com.