County News
Free Maple Sugar Festival on Tap at Fort Hunter Park
Monday, February 9, 2009
Harrisburg, February 9, 2009— It’s sticky, sugary and free. Come to the Maple Sugar Festival from noon to 4 p.m. on Sun., March 1 at Fort Hunter Park. This homey, hands-on event offers kids’ activities, plus “tap a tree,” real maple syrup on ice cream, and maple syrup making. Activities are centered at the Barn, Tavern and Stable.Take maple taste tests, see a DVD on maple sugar activities, shop for delicious Pennsylvania maple products and watch how maple sap is boiled down into syrup, with a whopping 40 gallons of sap needed to produce only one gallon of syrup. Visitors can also learn Native American methods for making maple sugar.
Volunteers will explain Colonial methods of sap tapping and allow people to try drilling holes with old-fashioned bits and braces. A family of volunteers, working from the Tavern’s Summer Kitchen, will show how wooden taps known as spiles were once made to allow sap to flow from tree to bucket. They will also explain various methods of tapping trees and collecting sap. Another family will explain maple candy making and give out samples.
No registration is required for this free program.
Fort Hunter is located six miles north of Harrisburg at 5300 N. Front St. The park is conveniently situated near I-81 (Exit 66/N. Front) and Rt. 322 (Exit Fishing Creek/Rt. 443). It is owned and operated by the Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Department. For more information, call 717-599-5188.
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