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Maple Syrup Festival sticks to success
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The boys of Boardman’s Boy Scout Troop 60 shared a smile during their visit to Boardman Park on March 24. The scouts work on gaining badges and demonstrate their survival skills for guests during the park’s Maple Syrup Festival.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Boardman Park’s Maple Syrup Festival also included an art show with works on display from local wood carvers and the Mahoning Valley Watercolor Society. Members of the watercolor society, from left, Noreen Yazvac, Brenda Cohen, and Betsy Ford showed off some of their artwork on March 24.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Civil war reenactors representing the 11th Mississippi, Company K held demonstrations during Boardman Park’s March 24 Maple Syrup Festival.
By SARAH FOOR
The 35th year of Boardman Park’s Maple Syrup Festival was definitely sweet.
Old-fashioned mapling demonstrations, Civil War re-enactments, an art show, hay rides and presentations from local Boy Scouts were highlights of the festival that spans two weekends — March 24-25 and March 31-April 1.
In the Chester V. Long Pavilion, Boardman Park groundsman Pete Cordon watched over the working maple sap evaporator and taught guests about the process of making syrup.
This year in particular, Cordon said the unusually warm weather and an influx of Asian Longhorned Beetles in the area, known to bore holes in the trees, has led to a small harvest of sap at Boardman Park.
Nonetheless, Cordon still finds that the festival is a wonderful springtime activity for local residents.
“It’s a fun way for people to learn about the mapling going in our area and a great chance to enjoy the blooming of Boardman Park this time of year. It’s a little something different,” he said.
Civil War re-enactors of the 11th Mississippi, Company K taught Civil War history at the event, while Boy Scout Troop 60 practiced old-fashioned camping techniques in a nearby area.
Scoutmaster Byron Harnishfeger said the troop has done its demonstrations at the festival since 1998.
“It’s an important time for scouts of all ranks to practice their skills and work up to their next badge,” he said. Scout Quinton Currier used his time wisely and continued to work on his Eagle Scout project while at the event. Currier is building 50 feline dwellings that he is planning to donate to Angels for Animals.
“My family has adopted three of our five cats from Angels for Animals, so it was personally important to me. Right now, the facility has stacked cardboard boxes in their play area that the cats just scratch and destroy. The dwellings I’m fashioning are made of 100 percent recycled materials and will be much more attractive to people looking to adopt cats from Angels,” Currier explained.
Enjoying the weather of early spring seemed to be a universal goal at the event.
Festival guests Scott and Monica Craven visited the festival with their daughter, Bailey. “We love any chance to enjoy nature as a family, as well as support the community,” Monica Craven said.