Maple Days 2023: Thurman producers open sugar shacks to the public

Thurman Maple Days 2023 kicks off Saturday, March 11, with local maple producers opening their farms to the public the last three weekends of March. Maple Days will feature five Thurman maple farms. Visitors can see the process of sap being boiled to syrup, and farm gift shops will be open selling syrups, maple candy, maple glazed nuts, and other maple products. Participating in Maple Days 2023 are Mud Street Maple, Toad Hill Maple, Valley Road Maple, Hidden Hollow Maple, and, new this year, Candy Mountain Maple. Each farm has unique offerings, and visitors are encouraged to visit them all. The farms will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 11-12, 18-19, and 25-26.

Visitors will learn about the year-round tasks performed at a maple operation and how farmers manage their sugarbush. Weather permitting, Toad Hill will offer wagon rides to the sugarbush. Candy Mountain is featuring a learning center for children that demonstrates how producers use science, technology, engineering and math to make sustainably-farmed Maple Syrup.

Valley Road Maple will be serving pancake and sausage breakfasts from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on each Saturday and Sunday of Maple Days. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children younger than age 10.

In addition to the maple farms, Maple Days 2023 includes an arts and crafts market and demonstrations of skills such as mushroom propagation at Martin’s Lumber. Visitors are also invited to Nettle Meadow farm where, weather permitting, visitors can meet and pet the resident sanctuary animals, sample award-winning cheeses, and pick up a hot ham and cheese sandwich for lunch along with maple-cheese bites.   

Postal clerks will be at the Thurman Town Hall each Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. offering special Thurman Maple Days dated cancelations for visitors that bring an envelope. Also at the Town Hall, local crafters will be set up for the 1st annual Maple Days Vendor Fair. Certain locations will have collections boxes for donations to World Central Kitchen, which is helping to feed Ukrainians displaced by war.

Visit the Maple Days 2023 website for more information and a map of farm locations. Thurman farms are also open to the public each autumn for the Thurman Fall Farm Tour. Organizers remind visitors that there are no gas stations in Thurman, so be sure to gas up before coming.