WHEATON, MD—Brookside Nature Center will host its popular Maple Sugar Festival on Sunday, February 20 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, at the nature center, 1400 Glenallan Avenue in Wheaton, MD.
The annual Maple Sugar Festival at Brookside Nature Center began in the 1970s. Marta Potter, Nature Facility Program Manager at Brookside Nature Center comments “I joined the staff of the nature center in 1981, and have seen first-hand that it takes about 20 years for the sugar maple tree to be big enough to be tapped to collect sap. The process of how to turn sap from certain types of maple trees into delicious syrup will be explained as well as why winter is the best time to harvest the sap.” Last year, more than 1,800 visitors stopped by the Festival to learn about this process.
Participants begin their Maple Sugar Festival experience with a short introduction and movie in the nature center auditorium. Festival stations allow visitors to see and taste the sap dripping from trees, to test the sap as it’s boiling down, and to compare homemade maple syrup against commercial brands on silver-dollar-sized pancakes served at the old time log cabin. At each station, participants can learn more about the maple sugaring process. Participants can expect to spend about an hour for the complete festival experience.
The Maple Sugar Festival is FREE and open to all ages. No reservations are required. The event will be held rain or shine. For more information, call Brookside Nature Center at 301-962-1480 or visit www.BrooksideNature.org.
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Contact:
Leslie McDermott
Marketing & Media Relations Manager
Horticulture, Forestry and Environmental Education Division,
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-962-1427