KIRTLAND, Ohio — It’s maple sugaring season, and those at Lake Metropark Farmpark say they’re off to a great start.
They recently broke 300 galloons, and expect to produce more before the warmer weather fully kicks in.
But first, organizers hosted their annual Maple Sugaring Weekends on Sunday where people enjoyed activities like watching how sap is converted and processed into maple syrup and then getting to try it.
“It’s not something you see every day in every place so we’re lucky to have it so close to home,” said Monica Engelhardt, one of Sunday’s visitors.
Making maple syrup at Metropark Farmpark is a delicate process.
“It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of this stuff,” said Lake Metropark Event Manager, Andy McGovern.
But McGovern says it’s worth it.
“Those other syrups that you buy that are cheaper, they’re made with corn syrup,” said McGovern. “Even if they say made with real maple syrup, flip it over because they can say they add 5% maple syrup to it, but the rest of it is corn syrup. This is all-natural.”
And – it’s being made right in some people’s backyard.
“It’s so nice to have the hands-on, being able to see them make it,” said Engelhardt.
Engelhardt and others are able to experience this one-of-a-kind opportunity thanks to Maple Sugaring Weekends.
Visitors get to see how maple sugar is made and then purchase some to take home.
“The season started real early this year, and we were actually worried it was going to be a short season because of those warm days that we had, but then we had really good cold spells, so the season’s been prolonged,” said McGovern.
There are even opportunities for people to meet some of the animals on the farm.
“The maple syrup, we’re here doing it, but the kids love the animals and we’re going to have a first-time cow-milker today (Sunday),” said Michelle Ursick, one of Sunday’s visitors.
If you missed Sunday’s opportunity, McGovern encourages you to join them again next weekend.
Watch more maple sugaring fun:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
