Festival organizers hope maple syrup-seekers will cover the hills of Brown County State Park and drizzle into Nashville this weekend.
The National Maple Syrup Festival is back in Brown County for a second year — though this time, most events will be in the state park.
Last year, 4,000 visitors attended events in downtown Nashville and the park.
“We recognized that we don’t have the manpower, and there’s not quite the draw when it’s that dispersed,” said Jane Ellis, executive director of the Brown County Visitors and Convention Bureau.
The Brown County High School Student Council’s pancake breakfast, featuring the high-flying flipping of Chris Cakes, remains in town. It will be served Saturday and Sunday mornings, March 5 and 6 from 8 to 11 a.m. at the high school.
After filling up on pancakes, visitors can head to the park either by jumping on the Maple Motorcoach at the Visitors Center downtown or by driving themselves. Festival organizers are encouraging people to park in town — to save money on the park gate fee and to have a reason to explore town when they’re finished at the festival.
At the Lower Shelter House near the park’s pool, festival guests will be greeted with fun. There will be a Sticky-Fingered Maple Syrup Challenge Course, food trucks, a beer and wine garden and live music by local band the Boxcar Annies, and a Maple Market selling maple syrup and maple merchandise.
The popular Native American and French Colonial maple syrup demonstrations also will return this year, and children can test their sugar making skills during Sugaring for Small Folks at the Lower Shelter.
The visitors and convention bureau will have a tent where visitors can get more information on what to do in town after their festival visit.
“We’re not a two-day festival yet. That’s going to take some time to build. We figure probably about two hours a person out at the park,” Ellis said. “Then, they’ll be coming back into town looking for things to do.”
Lessons learned
One lesson learned from last year’s festival was to have enough syrup, Ellis said.This year, guests will be able to buy “flights” of syrup from area producers to taste for $10. Rawhide Ranch staff will help tasters brand a piece of wood that will be their serving tray. Each flight will have enough syrup for a family of four to enjoy.
Last year, the Dutch Oven Diva cooked over a fire and gave away samples of dishes using maple syrup. This year, the Boy Scouts will do Dutch oven cooking and sell the food they cook as a fundraiser, Ellis said.
Based on the response to last year’s festival, several syrup educational sessions will take place downstairs in the Lower Shelter.
The free Sap School will take place every hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Visitors will learn from local sugaring experts about everything from the history of maple syrup to running a commercial sugar bush.
“Last year we had a couple of people at a great big, huge caldron that were boiling the sap (near the courthouse). They almost went hoarse answering the same questions over and over again,” Ellis said.
Another popular attraction — interpretive hikes — will return this year with a bigger presence. They will leave every hour beginning at 9 Saturday and Sunday and include tree identification, tree tapping and sap tasting.
The hope this year is to increase festival attendance from 4,000 to about 6,000 or 7,000, Ellis said.
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A free Maple Motorcoach will transport visitors from downtown Nashville to the festival in Brown County State Park and back.
Board at the Visitors Center at the corner of Van Buren and Main streets.
Ride through the park’s west gate and tour the park; the bus will drop visitors at the festival gate at the lower shelter.
Avoid the park’s gate fee this way. “We want people to come to town, and that way, it saves them the hassle of trying to find parking in the state park,” said Aubrey Sitzman, public relations coordinator for the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Saturday departures from town are between 8:30 and 3:30 p.m. and returns are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., about every 30 minutes.
Sunday departures from town are between 8:30 and 3:30 p.m. and returns are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., about every 30 minutes.
Admission to the festival is $10 for the weekend; for children 6 and younger, it’s free. Visitors who choose to park in the state park will be charged the per-car park gate fee if they don’t have a state park pass.
Tickets to the festival and other events like the pancake breakfasts and maple syrup “flight” tasting are available at http://nationalmaplesyrupfestival.com/tickets.
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Abe Martin Lodge – Pancakes with blueberry maple syrup, chipotle maple BBQ pork sandwich, maple and mustard glazed salmon
Artists Colony Inn – Maple glazed chicken sandwich, maple BBQ ribs, maple teriyaki glazed salmon
Bear Wallow Distillery – “Mad about Maple” cocktail, Sugar Moon Maple Moonshine, bourbon barrel-aged Indiana maple syrup
Big Woods Brewing Company – Busted Knuckle maple bacon burger, Brown County Maple Ale
Big Woods Pizza – Maple syrup breakfast pizza
Brown County Inn – Maple bourbon old-fashioned cocktail, maple glazed pork belly
Brown County Playhouse – Sausage and pancake on a stick with maple syrup, maple lemon cocktail
Carmel Corn Cottage – Maple caramel corn, maple delights, maple slush puppies
Daily Grind Coffee House – Sausage, eggs and pancakes with maple syrup; sausage, eggs and French toast sticks with maple syrup
Darlene’s at Hotel Nashville – Maple bourbon pecan glazed brie appetizer, maple glazed petite pork tenderloin, maple Italian cream cake
Hobnob Corner – House-made maple garlic sausages on navy bean stew, quail with chile maple glaze, maple syrup pie
Nashville Fudge Kitchen – Maple bacon saltwater taffy, maple bacon popcorn, maple nut fudge
Nashville House Old Country Store – Maple cookie
Out of the Ordinary – Maple glazed ribeye steaks, apple maple braised pork chops, peach maple bread pudding
The Seasons Lodge – Maple brine roast pork loin, maple walnut pie
Story Inn – Ribeye steak frites with Burton’s maple mustard butter, Burton’s maple and rosemary French toast with whipped ricotta
The Sunshine Shack – Hot dog or brat with maple baked beans, homemade maple ice cream, maple apple individual pies, maple cream pie bites
Sweetea’s Tea Shop – Maple scones, maple tea
Dishes will be served for the next two weekends: March 4-6 and March 11-13.
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Learn from local sugaring experts at the free Sap School this weekend at the state park lower shelter.
March 5
10 a.m. Art Harris from Harris Sugar Bush
11 a.m. Kevin Lawyer on evaporators
12 p.m. Phil Purpura on small production sugaring
1 p.m. Art Harris from Harris Sugar Bush
2 p.m. Ron Burnett on tapping a small quantity of trees and maple recipes
3 p.m. David Denman on sugaring basics
4 p.m. Kevin Lawyer on vacuum systems/filter press
March 6
10 a.m. James VanTassel on the maple syrup experience
11 a.m. Kevin Lawyer on reverse osmosis
12 p.m. Mike Smith, a brief history of maple syrup
1 p.m. Kevin Lawyer on vacuum systems/filter press
2 p.m. Ron Burnett on tapping a small quantity of trees and maple recipes
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COOKING: Sweet Victory Challenge, a recipe competition using maple syrup, will take place at the Abe Martin Lodge in the park.
HIKES: Guided hikes will leave the lower shelter every hour beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The last will leave at 4:30 p.m. March 5 and at 2:30 p.m. March 6.
STORYTELLING: On Saturday, March 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., children younger than 12 are invited to the Brown County Public Library for Sweet Storytelling and Snow Candy. Children will be read an excerpt from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House in the Big Woods” and make “maple-sicles,” pouring warm maple syrup over crushed ice. The event is free.
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What: Chris Cakes Pancake Breakfast
When: 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6
Where: Brown County High School cafeteria
Menu: Unlimited pancakes with butter, 100 percent maple syrup, sausage, Tang, coffee and water
Tickets: Sold at the door, are $5 for students, $8 for adults and $30 for families; children 2 and under eat free. Cash or check accepted.
Proceeds: Benefit the Brown County High School Student Council
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