April Brings The Elmira Maple Syrup Festival
With the spring season around the corner, the sap of Canada’s maple trees is beginning to rise, which makes it ready to be tapped, spilled, boiled and served to you as the famous Canadian maple syrup. There is no better place to experience this culture festival than the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival that brings thousands of visitors annually.
One of the largest festivals within the community of Elmira, the Maple Syrup Festival brings families from all the neighbouring cities including Kitchener Waterloo, Guelph, Stratford and Cambridge, as well as many long distance travellers. The festival celebrates 50 years on 5 April 2014 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and it is definitely an event not to be missed. Thousands of visitors partake in the events and delicious tastes of the festival, and all raised proceeds of the Festival are donated to non-profit organizations in the community. The Elmira Maple Syrup Festival places great importance on bringing the communities together to celebrate Canada’s history, tradition and of course, maple syrup.
Over the past 50 years, the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival has become a vital and precious part of local history. In the very first year of the festival, volunteers from the community stood by camp stoves and electric griddles, eager to serve pancakes dripped in the true taste of Canadian maple syrup. While only expecting a small handful of visitors, that year 10,000 people made their way to Elmira on that particular day. Ever since then, the Festival has continued to grow in popularity, and not only do the local communities come to enjoy the delicious taste, fun and history, but people from all over the world, including Australia, Europe, Mexico, United States, Canada, and even the North Pole have made their travels to take place in what is now recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the World’s Largest Single Day Maple Syrup Festival.
Of course, the main events of the Maple Syrup Festival includes chowing down on some delicious, home made pancakes that are drizzled in pure Canadian maple syrup, but there are many more events to join in once your pancake breakfast is finished. Enjoy pony rides, live music, a train ride on the Waterloo Central Railway, contests, antique and quilt shows, sugar shacks full of maple syrup treats and so much more. Take a tractor ride through the sugar bush to explore a lesson on how the ambrosial taste of maple syrup is made, or learn about the natural birds of prey that are prominent in this area. Magic shows, petting zoos and so much more are ready to satisfy your family day in Elmira.
As the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival has quickly grown in popularity, it has grown to occupy the entire main street in Elmira. Approximately 150 vendors open along the closed-off street, emphasizing the culture, crafts and food of the area. Some vendors that you can expect to see include quilts and crafting, hand made toys, freshly baked goods, syrup sweets, antiques and many more. This is a wonderful chance to take home some unique gifts or treats from the Elmira community.
Since the festival happens outside, be sure to dress appropriately for all kinds of weather! April is still chilly and the weather is unpredictable, but the festival takes place whatever the weather, so dress warmly and enjoy the day. The Elmira Maple Syrup Festival brings a full day of family and community fun that showcases what the community of Elmira and surrounding area is all about. And learning about the history and preparation of the maple syrup will make the treat even more special for the rest of your life.
