Highlights of the annual Maple Festival at the Middletown Springs Historical Society on Sunday, March 19 from 1-4 pm, include maple lore and demonstrations, lunch and sweet treats from local kitchens, and a Maple Raffle with 35 items each valued at $100 or more.
The festival features a demonstration of early maple sugarmaking in a cast iron kettle over an open fire. Indoors, local sugarmaker Ryan Mahar and historians David Wright and Jon Mathewson will give a presentation on maple sugaring history and current practice, using examples from the Historical Society collection.
Homemade soup and chili from Sissy's Kitchen, mac n'cheese, and delicious maple desserts created by Historical Society cooks, as well as Vermont maple products and new 2023 syrup will be available for sale. Old-fashioned sugar on snow, blueberry pancakes and maple syrup, and maple cotton candy are always favorites. Acoustic music and kids' activities enliven the free afternoon event. Videos about Vermont maple sugaring will be shown continuously.
The Grand Prize item in the Maple Raffle is the winner's choice of a gift certificate for 100 gallons of heating oil from Johnson Energy or the cash equivalent, around $400. All the items will be on view at the Festival and all 35 great raffle items, each valued at $100 or more are listed at www.mshsvt.org.
Participants can target their tickets for individual raffle items, increasing their chances of getting what they want. Raffle tickets are $25 each or five tickets for $100. Tickets can be purchased at the festival or returned with payment by mail beforehand. For a list of raffle items, downloadable tickets, and instructions, visit the Society's new, ADA accessible website, www.mshsvt.org. The raffle drawings will occur at 4:00 pm at the festival and you do not need to be present to win. Museum exhibits on Middletown Springs history are on view during the festival. Admission is free and the building is accessible.
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