Christie, Sean and Jan McKinney with sap bucket in the snow painting by Belleville artist Jesus Estevez

Less than a week to Maple in the County and the weather has been crazy mild. We were out enjoying the freedom of no snow and light jackets when we bumped into Sean McKinney of Re/Max Quinte Ltd. with his wife Jan and daughter Christie at the Oeno Gallery. Sean and his crew are sponsors of the event, so I buttonholed him on how he feels about a) maple syrup and b) Maple in the County. Okay I’m shameless, but it’s what I do!
Here’s what he told me:

“We first did Maple in the County as a family last year and loved it, so I decided to treat about 30 Remax agents to a pancake breakfast at our cottage a week later. We visited Fosterholm Farms for a special tour of their operation and had a great time.”

Clearly the whole County maple thing made a big impression on him, and Re/Max Quinte Ltd. became associate sponsors of the 2010 maple festival. He was already backing the Harvestin’ supper and the PEC Marathon and maple makes a sweet addition to local sponsorship.

To capture the silent magic of the sugarbush, Sean commissioned a painting of a sap bucket in the snow by Belleville artist Jesus Estevez.

He’s looking forward to this year’s pancakes and sugar shack demos and maple treats. Hey, he’s a realtor, and a good one too, so it’s natural that he would be excited about Spring and everything it stands for: renewed energy, sap rising, people looking for fresh starts.

“At Re/Max we’ve had a great start with this early Spring. We’re busy listing and showing all kinds of properties, and our agents are at the Spring Cottage Life Show in Toronto promoting Prince Edward County. With all the activities and festivals and great things happening here, it’s a pleasure to market the County to people who don’t have it so good!”

Will he be doing the maple thing himself this year? “Absolutely. A lot of us are going to various events and destinations just to hang out with people and enjoy that feeling of Spring in the air.”

by Janet Davies

The 9th Annual Maple in the County is presented by The Waring House and The Prince Edward County Maple Syrup Producers in association with RE/MAX Quinte Ltd. Real Estate Brokerage and the Picton BIA.

For a full list of participants, events and activities, please visit www.mapleinthecounty.ca