NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA & LAKE COUNTRY TOURISM
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It’s that sweet time of year again, as Orillia & Lake Country Tourism presents the ever-popular Tap into Maple experience. Running March 3 to April 6, the program is an opportunity to visit the region’s maple syrup producers, enjoy special maple-themed experiences, and indulge in local maple-inspired cuisine.
This year’s Tap into Maple program truly showcases the deep roots of maple in our region with 21 participating locations including 7 maple syrup producers offering an array of sugar bush experiences.
Take a self-guided tour through lesser-traveled routes to working sugar shacks that offer a firsthand view of the maple syrup process, from harvesting and boiling to enjoying. Additionally, experience the many ways maple is celebrated by shopping for maple products, enjoying a maple infused craft brew or dining out on maple featured menus.
With the amount of snowfall across the region this year, maple syrup producers are biding their time in preparation for the spring production. “It’s an old fashioned, Canadian maple season,” says Brent Beers of Maple Grove Syrup in Severn.
With a new vacuum system being set up in his sugar bush, the bulk of the installation can only happen on snowshoes. Despite the prolonged winter compared to recent years, producers are optimistic for the maple season ahead with tap lines and buckets in place for when the sap really stars flowing in the coming weeks.
This year’s Tap into Maple producers include Backwoods Maple Syrup, Elsie’s Creek Farm, The Farmgate, Hewitt’s Maple Syrup and Farm Market, Hutchinson’s Maple Syrup, Maple Grove Syrup, and Shaw’s Maple Syrup and Sugar Sweet Farms.
Visitors can walk through a tap lined sugar bush, see the different processes from small scale sugar shacks to larger facilities, meet the producers who work year-round to ensure the best product, and pick up the freshest maple syrup of the season. Be sure to check TapIntoMaple.com for visiting hours at each site
In anticipation for the sap to start flowing, stop by local shops for even more maple infused products.
Visit Chelsea Chocolates in Oro-Medonte; Copperpot Nuts in Severn; DWN Craft Chocolatier, Mariposa Market, and Susie Q Fudge & Gifts in Orillia; and The Gathering Place in Casino Rama Resort to pick sweet maple treats.
Many of these shops have developed partnerships with local maple syrup producers to infuse their sweet treats - including maple chocolate bars, maple-infused nuts, and maple fudge. On Saturday mornings the Orillia Farmers’ Market also welcomes vendors like PyrValley Maple Syrup with their specialty maple and birch syrup.
Orillia & Lake Country’s culinary scene is also ready to celebrate all things maple. Off-Eleven Pizza + Eats, Lake Country Grill, and Blue Moon Junction will all offer special dining menu options featuring maple flavours.
For delicious specialty drinks and hand-held features, Apple Annies Café and Em’s Café will have maple themed delights from freshly baked treats, specialty drinks, and menu options.
Finally, top off the end of a self-guided tour through the region with a maple-infused craft brew at Quayle’s Brewery along with great food and on-site activities for the whole family.
Mark your calendars for family fun events to cap off the Tap into Maple experience. Over March Break, some maple producers will have additional activities and extended hours of operation for families to get out and enjoy the season.
On March 22 and 23 the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre hosts the 35th Annual Sweetwater Harvest Festival with loads of family fun activities, delicious food and educational opportunities alongside their partner site, Saint-Marie Among the Hurons.
At the grand finale of Tap into Maple, the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association presents Maple Weekend on April 5 and 6. Many Tap into Maple producers will offer extra events, activities, and treats on site-during the weekend to kick-off the spring sales of maple products in our area.
Tap into Maple has something for everyone, celebrating and supporting local producers and small businesses. Check out each location for details about hours of operation and booking ahead. Visit TapIntoMaple.com for more information on all of the participating producers, businesses and activities.
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