Feature - Springwater News

Aside from a few broken sap lines and some downed tree limbs, Tim Lalonde’s maple syrup farm just south of the village survived the recent ice storm relatively unscathed and was cranking up production to ensure there was a more-than-ample supply of the amber nectar on hand for the 57th annual Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival, which takes over the community’s downtown core on April 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“I spent about eight hours fixing broken lines and stuff but everything is back up and working fine,” Lalonde said Monday as he took a visitor on a tour of his sugar shack on Flos Rd. 8 East, about 15 minutes north of Barrie.

“It was quite the mess out there but most of the trees survived so we’re okay.”

For almost six decades, Lalonde has been a staunch supporter and one of the festival’s main attractions – the bus tours to his sugar shack are always a must-do activity.

A short ride from Elmvale’s downtown, Lalonde’s sugar shack looks pretty much the same today as it did 50 years ago.

A simple, unadorned wooden structure with a tin roof, the sugar shack is predictably utilitarian – it serves its function and little else.

Inside, space is at a premium.

The large steel cooker in the middle of the shack does yeoman duty – it cooks the raw sap and provides more than enough heat to keep the space warm and comfortable.

Standing at one end of the cooker, William Patterson feeds massive wood planks into the fire, one after another, maintaining a constant temperature.

Based on the time of the year that the sap flowed, the final syrup will fall into one of the four main grading categories – golden, amber, dark and very dark.

Golden syrup comes from sap harvesting at the very beginning of the sugaring-off season. It’s light with a sweet, delicate flavour and is a recommended topping for yogurt and ice cream. Amber syrup has a richer taste and is a fine addition to vinaigrettes. Dark syrup has a more pronounced, caramelized flavour and is often used in cooking, baking and sauces. Very dark syrup comes from the sap that’s harvested at the end of the sugaring-off season. Its flavour, more pronounced than of the other varieties, is rich and distinctive, an ideal addition to sauces and glazes.

“Syrup starts off as golden and it goes from there, right down to the very darkest,” Lalonde said. “There’s quite a difference in taste between the two ends of the spectrum.”

He recommends folks sample all four grades while they’re enjoying a pancake breakfast at the Community Hall, while listening to the sweet sounds of one of the bands that will be on hand throughout the day or while strolling through the vendor areas that will be set up in the arena, on its grounds and on Maria Street.

With more than 200 vendors on site for the day, Lalonde said finding samples should be relatively easy.

“There’ll be 25 or so syrup producers there so you’ll have a good selection,” he said.

According to the Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival website, organizers are expecting upward of 30,000 people to visit the one-day festival, with all proceeds raised used to support local causes and initiatives, including schools, children’s music programs, the library, girl guides, scouts, the arena and community hall projects.

To satiate the expected throngs, Saturday begins with a pancake breakfast in the Community Hall with live entertainment beginning on the Main Stage at 10 a.m. with performances by local talent, followed by a performance by the Elmvale District High School All-stars at 11 and the opening ceremonies at noon.

A log-sawing contest and pancake-eating contests are scheduled for the afternoon, with local talent providing musical interludes at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30.

Throughout the day, festival vendors will be offering a wide variety of goods, from handmade jewelry and homemade preserves to baking and bath products and hand-made clothing.