Kick off maple syrup season at the annual Tapping Out Party, Saturday, March 9

Feb 27, 2019

Maple syrup season is right around the corner, and the Lanark & District Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (LDMSPA) is getting ready to kick the season off right, with a Tapping Out Party on Saturday, March 9, 2019. This annual event is hosted each year at a Lanark & District sugarbush, and this year’s event will be held at Golden Moment Farm, in Athens.

Open to visitors and producers, the tapping out party has been taking place since 1991 and is a way of commemorating the ceremonial tapping of the first maple tree of the season. The event typically includes family-friendly activities, and a maple-oriented theme.

This year, Golden Moment Farm will be offering a fun-filled day of activities for all ages, with maple syrup and candy demonstrations, taffy on snow, trail walking, wagon rides, samples, and more. The official tapping of the first tree of the season will take place at 11 a.m. by local MPP, Steve Clark.

Other activities throughout the day will include an Algonquin College display with information about a new agricultural program beginning in 2019, and a truck display by Tackaberry Construction. A barbecue lunch and live music by Fred Brown & Friends will take place between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with a cost of $6 for the meal.

Golden Moment Farm has been operating for more than 20 years, and has grown from a 300-bucket operation to a 1,200 tap system with pipeline and a stainless steel evaporator. Sugarbush owners, John and Norma Banford, explained they are pleased to be hosting this year’s event for LDMSPA, and are looking forward to marking the start of yet another maple syrup season, producing the very first farm crop of the year.

"We’re looking forward to offering visitors a fun time at the event this year,” John Banford said, “The tapping of the first tree of the season if always special, but after such a long winter it will have extra meaning this year.”

Visitors are invited to be part of the event at Golden Moment Farm, 140 Mother Barnes Rd., Athens, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on March 9, 2019, for a full day of activities and maple fun.

Admission is free for this family-friendly, wintry event. For more information please visit www.goldenmomentfarm.ca or www.ldmspa.ca.

About Lanark & District Maple Syrup Producers’ Association:

LDMSPA is a group of over 90 maple syrup producers located in the Lanark, Frontenac, Leeds and Grenville Counties, as well as the Ottawa-Carleton areas of Eastern Ontario. LDMSPA is one of 11 local organizations that make up the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (OMSPA), a provincial organization that represents maple syrup producers across the province.

As a membership-based organization LDMSPA supports its members by providing a forum to promote the production of maple syrup products, assisting members to stay current on changing industry regulations, and providing opportunities for networking, and education on the maple syrup industry in Ontario. For more information please visit www.ldmspa.com.