Guest Column
By Senator Joseph Griffo
(VVS, New Hartford, NY – March 2014) Mark your calendars for March 22-23 and March 29-30. Maple Weekend is almost upon us!
This is your chance to get a first-hand look at how maple products are made, from the tree tap to the table. New York is the nation’s second largest maple producer, producing a whopping 18 percent of America’s entire output.
Maple production is ramping up, too. During the 2013 season, New York’s maple producers used 2.2 million taps – the largest amount since just after World War II.
There will be more than 100 locations celebrating Maple Weekend this year. Here’s a list of agribusinesses that are participating in your county. Admission to all events are free, not including the cost of pancake breakfasts.
For more information, visit www.mapleweekend.com
Tibbitts Maple
8874 Tibbitts Road
New Hartford, NY 13413-5228
Phone: (315) 793-3114 / (315) 794-2752
Tibbits Maple will be canning syrup during Maple Weekend.
Open: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 22-23
V.V.S. FFA Maple Market
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School
5275 State Route 31
Verona, NY 13478-2913
Phone: (315) 829-2520 / (315) 335-0887
The V-V-S FFA is serving a pancake breakfast from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the High School cafeteria. Visitors can also take a free, student-guided wagon ride to a sugar bush and maple sap house and watch all steps of syrup production.
Open: March 22, 23, 29 & 30