Syrup flows at annual festival

March 25, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK

BOARDMAN

It’s felt more like summer than spring lately, and maple sap started flowing in early February, but that didn’t stop Boardman Township Park officials from going ahead with their annual spring event — a maple syrup festival.

Temperatures have been higher than normal, meaning the syrup- producing process in trees occurred earlier than usual, explained Pete Cordon, maple demonstrator for the park.

He said usually this time of year is good “because you have warm days and cold nights, like a 40-degree day and a 25-degree night.”

But the 35th annual Maple Syrup Festival still included demonstrations of the maple-syrup-making process.

“We have about 20 buckets out right now for demonstrating,” Cordon said.

Sap is mostly water — only 1 percent to 3 percent of it is natural sugar. To make maple syrup, the water is boiled off, which takes about 24 to 48 hours. It takes 30 to 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

The event is intended to show community members what it was like in pioneer times, Cordon said, and to show families they can make maple syrup themselves, if they choose to do so.

Also included in the festival is a display depicting Boardman Park’s history.

Five-year old Ashton Ramsdale of Boardman checked out the display with his stepfather, Brian Hoover.

Ashton said the stuffed fox was his favorite animal in the display. On a hayride through the park, the pair saw two deer.

They attend the event every year, Hoover said.

“I think it’s great they have something like this,” Hoover added. “I explained to [Ashton] about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. I had a good time in Boy Scouts, and I want to get him involved. The pancake breakfast was really good.”

Boardman Boy Scout Troop 60 was at the festival to show people what Scouts do, as well as to work on rank requirements, including physical fitness and the proper handling of knife, ax and saw.

For 30 years, the Boardman Rotary has joined the maple syrup festival, offering a pancake breakfast to community members.

Celeste Lisko, co-chairwoman of the pancake breakfast, said the money raised goes back into the community for various projects.

“We serve a couple thousand people a weekend,” she said. “So we serve a lot of pancakes.”

Rotary members cook and serve. Members of the Boardman High School Interact Club, which is affiliated with Boardman Rotary, also help serve.

Also at the festival are Civil War re-enactors, the Western Reserve Woodcarvers, the Boardman Historical Society and the Mahoning Valley Watercolor Society.

The festival continues from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, Saturday and next Sunday.