Elmira: The Center of it All

Lots of pics - link to web!

Thanks to the good folks at Treehouse television and "Are We There Yet: World Adventure," the feature on Friday, April 1st was on the Largest Maple Syrup Festival in the World.  It is held in a place called Elmira, Ontario.  Since Elmira is just a short distance away thanks to Google Maps (1 hour and 22 minutes), we watch way too much T.V., and the festival was the very next day, we decided to pack up the car with Bubbie and go.  

View Larger Map (B is Elmira!)

Because if you are in Canada, and are that close to the World's Largest Maple Syrup Festival, and you pass up that opportunity, you really don't deserve to live in Canada with all of its wonders.  

I made everyone get up very early.  The festival began at 7 a.m.  Why? For the pancakes, of course!  So we arrived at 9 a.m.  My friend on the paleo diet would have appreciated the person eating the large turkey leg as we walked in.   We stood in this line as we arrived.

It looks bad, but it was only about a 40 minute wait. The pancakes are made according to a secret festival recipe.  They are cooked on 6 of the World's Biggest Griddles, of course. Dad, eat your heart out, and next time, plan to be in Canada the weekend of March 31, 2012.  You did not need special training to be a pancake flipper. I asked.  All pancakes come with a hearty portion of Canadian maple syrup, not the Aunt Jemima stuff.

They were pretty good pancakes. We all got doubles.  All the proceeds go to charity in Elmira. The festival attracts about 50-60,000 people in 1 day, a pretty decent amount for a town of about 12,000.

The festival was shockingly well-organized and well-run.  While there were waits for events, none lasted over 45 minutes (for pancakes), lines were orderly, and people were pleasant. There was no one cutting in line or grouchy about waiting.  We also went out to what is called the "sugar bush." (You can make your own jokes.)  We had to take a bus and then a tractor to the forest.

Sugaring season lasts 4-6 weeks depending on the weather, but most of the sap runs in 10 days.  The taps don't hurt the trees, as long as they are tapped correctly.

Now they use plastic buckets, but fortunately they still had metal ones, and they were selling them for only $2! So guess who has a new home decor item?

 

The sap is boiled in this contraption.  It is really used just to evaporate the water and concentrate the sugar.  Maple syrup comes in several grades.

In this second picture below, I was able to stick my finger in and taste the sap/syrup water. Apparently they weren't too concerned with me contaminating it like Willy Wonka ("Augustus, No!").  It was very light tasting.

And what would any good festival be without a Queen? This is Cassandra, Queen of the Furrow.  That sounds like a John Waters movie, but she happily obliged my request for a photo, because almost all Canadians are nice.  I don't know the responsibilities or obligations of the Queen of the Furrow, but E was VERY excited to happy to take her picture with any Queen.  

As you can see, it was a nice day, but still pretty cold.  According to festival officials, they have held the festival when it has been sleeting and snowing. It is Canadian dedication to go to a maple syrup festival in sleet.

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