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Boardman Park hosts Maple Syrup Festival
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Christian Pinto chopped wood during the Maple Festival at Boardman Park.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Dick Dowell (back) and Jeff Michalenok cook pancakes during the Maple Festival at Boardman Park.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Three attendees of the Maple Festival at Boardman Park enjoy their pancakes.
By TIM CLEVELAND
The weekends of March 22-23 and 29-30 were busy ones at Boardman Park with the 37th annual Maple Syrup Festival and the Boardman Rotary was hosting its 32nd annual pancake breakfast going on simultaneously.
The pancake breakfast had all you can eat pancakes, sausage, plus all you can drink coffee and orange juice for $6. Children ages 6 and younger were admitted free.
For the Maple Syrup Festival, there were demonstrations on how maple trees are tapped, sap collected and how the sap is boiled to make syrup. Other activites were a Civil War reenactment, wood carving, a presentation of Boardman’s history from the Boardman Historical Society, displays of the Water Color Society, wagon rides and Boardman Boy Scout Troop 60 demonstrated scouting skills.
“They always had a Maple Syrup Festival and I think that Boardman Rotary just said what’s better to go with maple syrup than pancakes,” said pancake breakfast co-chair Nina Hanna.
The pancake breakfast raised approximately $15,000 last year which was donated to the local community. Event organizers were hoping for upwards of $20,000 this year. More than 3,000 people attended last year’s breakfast, while 459 were there March 22 with 800-900 expected on March 23.
Hanna and her fellow co-chair Mason Shattuck said sponsorship has helped the Boardman Rotary distribute all of its funds to the designated organizations.
“We’re unique in that we are able to donate 100 percent of all proceeds directly into the surrounding community,” Shattuck said.
“We try and get everything donated so that all the money we make is 100 percent profit,” Hanna said. “A lot of different charities from the community come to us and ask for funds. Easter Seals, Boardman Schools, rescue missions, Salvation Army, Coats for Kids, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.”
The troop 60 Boy Scouts camped out all night March 22 in tents in preparation for the start of the Maple Festival. In addition to showing off their scouting skills, the 39-member troop also hosted a fundraiser to raise money for the organization by having a Chinese auction of gift baskets. Last year’s event raised $1,900.
“It’s our big fundraiser for the year,” said scoutmaster Byron Harnishfeger. “It allows us to buy trailer tires, rank badges, anything that the troop needs.”
The troop was also working on earning badges during their stay in the park, such as Totin’ Chips, which would allow then to use a knife and an ax, and rank requirements such as fire building and cooking.