WEST CHAZY — Maple sugarhouses around the North Country are creating sweet memories for families and individuals during this year’s Maple Weekend event with pancake breakfasts, open houses as well as exclusive deals and product samples.
Victor Presti, a Bechard’s Sugar House regular of over 10 years, thinks Maple Weekends is “the best time of the year,”
“I come every year, every weekend and I have been known to come everyday between the weekends,” he said.
Presti said the “atmosphere” of Bechard’s is what keeps him coming back, among his favorite products.
“This is a beautiful restaurant, it feels more like an actual sit-down restaurant environment as opposed to a campground lodge house type of feeling,” he said.
THE SUN RISING OVER THE OCEAN
Some of Presti’s favorite Bechard products include the dark maple syrup “on the regular,” and the maple cream.
“But during Maple Weekends, it’s the food,” he said.
“I actually go through withdrawals after the Christmas pancake breakfast with Santa, that event is like the sun rising over the ocean. It seems like March and April are just too far.”
For Richard Stonier, a local from Cumberland Head, Maple Weekends is the perfect time to score some deals on the harder-to-find maple syrups.
“This is an awesome facility, I come out here every year. It is hard to get dark maple anywhere else,” he said.
One of his favorite aspects of maple weekend is the open house for the passionate and knowledgeable staff.
“The operation here is excellent; the people are so friendly, if you have any questions or want to see the equipment they’ll happily show you,” Stonier said.
“They have a tree out back that’s hundreds of years old. They also do live tree tappings with the schoolkids on field trips,”
INFUSED IN THE NORTH COUNTRY
Stonier prefers the Very Dark Maple Syrup, from Bechard’s Sugarhouse, for its “rich,” and “deep flavoring.”
When he was a kid, Stonier remembers buying maple sugar candies at the ferry dock, but has not been able to since it closed.
“Maple sugar is infused in the North Country,” he said.
“Most people here have fond memories about this place or the maple sugar.”
GREAT TO BE BACK
He also encourages others to explore the local maple businesses in the North Country.
“I think people should be more aware of local operations like this, we have a few up here.” Stonier said.
According to Tammy Bechard, the sugarhouse already amassed upwards of 1000 visitors in the first two weekends.
“It feels great to be back, it’s been a busy season,” she said.
She emphasized the role her staff plays in making the event possible.
“We have such a good staff here, this wouldn’t be possible without any of them,”
Maple Weekend is organized and sponsored by the New York State Maple Producers’ Association as an opportunity for people to visit sugar houses and learn about the maple sugar making processes and traditions.
For more information visit https://www.mapleweekend.com/.
For a map of participating producers visit https://www.mapleweekend.com/producers/.