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Lyndsay Richmond, Picton BIAA gives a happy youngster a maple face during Picton's Maple Madness Celebration & Sale
Mid-March and raining. More snow on the way, they say, and more sunshine and then who knows what? Maple syrup producers must have nerves of steel, because you never know what to expect in March. All I know is I’m excited for Maple in the County this year, because TONS of stuff is happening in Picton. 21 Picton BIA businesses are taking part in our own little mini festival on Maple weekend, it’s an all ages, food, drink, shopping, music, entertainment downtown party on Saturday, March 27.
The restaurants really get into it with special maple-themed menus, and this year a whole bunch of retailers are in the game, too, with not just maple but an “All Things Spring” approach. New spring stock and special offers and maple treats for customers (cookies!) I know Kathy’s Collections is getting her new spring clothing ready.
We’ve printed our own Maple flyer to let everybody know what’s going on, and we’re turning Ross Street into a pedestrian district. It’s the short street opposite the Regent Theatre right in the centre of Picton. Perfect for a party street. There’s a craft center for kids….hosted by Sparkbox Studio, ice carving and live music from Mary Lambert, who won a Juno Award in 2002, and her family fun show. Pockets the Clown will be twisting balloons and doing his stuff, and the ice carvers, a group called Ice Culture from Ottawa, will be carving right here on Ross Street. I hear they’ll be carving maple leaves and a great big rabbit holding a plate of pancakes. Okaaaay.
Real pancakes are happening at the old Town Hall, courtesy of the Picton Pirates hockey team. Nancy Woods is in charge of the pancake breakfast, but I’m not sure if actual hockey players are doing any high flipping. I do know that Renata over at Painted Peppercorn will be Popping for Picton, making her AMAZING maple popcorn.
Way back when Maple in the County started, Alex Bake and businesses on Elizabeth Street thought there should be some “Urban Maple Fun” as well as great stuff happening at the farms and sugar shacks, so they put on a bit of entertainment and treats. Picton BIA’s involvement has grown every year, and now we’re having a great time with it. We’re really looking forward to our one-day Maplefest in downtown Picton. And we don’t care WHAT the weather does, because we know we’re going to have a ball!
Lyndsay Richmond, Picton BIA
The 9th Annual Maple in the County, March 27 & 28, 2010 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 and schedule please visit www.mapleinthecounty.ca
Is the sap running yet? It was sunny but cold when I talked to Janice Hubbs. “More like trickling right now,” she said. “Needs to warm up a little, but it’s early. We boiled sap all last week and have a quarter of our crop already.” She’s not too concerned about the weather, and flighty, unpredictable March has had maple producers on their toes for a couple of hundred years. “Okay, my knees are a little sore from all the praying, but that’s nothing new,” she laughed. She’s busy prepping for the 33rd annual pancake breakfast at Hubb’s Sugarbush, and she’s feeling the warm sun on her face and telling it to get over there and warm up that sap! 
It was a little milder “down south” in Cherry Valley, where Todd Vader had just spent a 12 hour day in his sap house. “When the sap is running you just keep at it,” he said cheerfully. The Vaders have been at it for generations. They’ve all got a touch of syrup in their blood. And for Maple in the County the whole family pitches in, gathering, boiling, bottling, labeling and entertaining visitors. Todd was pretty happy with the weather when we spoke, but then he’d just come out of a steamy, sweet, state-of-the-art sugar shack to a gorgeous March County sunset. 
evaporators. “I use the little one to get started when there’s not much sap, and fire up the big one when it starts running fast.” The baby lambs have arrived at Nyman Farms, as sweet as maple syrup and very popular with kids and soft-hearted grown-ups like me on Maple weekend. Are the babies okay with being petted and fussed? “Are you kidding?” he laughs. “They’re all over you when you enter their pen, they love it and so do the kids.” 
best old County farmers, still strong and good looking! Cliff and Dean Foster, the father and son maple producers at Fosterholm Farm, would say I’m crazy to say stuff like that. But they’re not bad looking themselves. Maybe I’m a sucker for hardworking men, but my husband, aka The Bald Photographer, has photographed the Fosters (with their huge gorgeous dog) and many other County farmers, recording the faces of the folks who produce our food – and who make delicious maple syrup. Me? I can’t wait for the 2010 vintage!