12th Annual Maple Festival - Sweet Wind Farm
*The event has already taken place on this date: Sat, 03/10/2018
Please help us keep this calendar up to date! If this activity is sold out, canceled, or otherwise needs alteration, email mindy@kidsoutandabout.com so we can update it immediately. If you have a question about the activity itself, please contact the organization administrator listed below.
NOTES to our visitors for this day:
PARKING: Please park in designated areas, we will have parking assistants outside as you arrive. There will be no parking available right in front of the sugarhouse unless you are handicapped in which case ask for help. Please park well off the main road with your wheels behind the white line, you can park on the side area of sugarhouse by the road, in front of the garage, off the main road parallel to road in front of our house, down "John Deere Ave." which leads to the backfield, and you can park behind the sugarhouse off of our road in the field. If it is muddy use your own discretion and common sense about where you are parking, we are supposed to get snow Wednesday that could still be hanging around Saturday. You may drop people off at the garage area and then park if you wish.
DRESS appropriately for the weather, especially proper footwear if you are interested in the tree tapping demonstration and the outdoor tour.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE DAY
10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Live demonstrations of sap boiling in the evaporator, syrup draw off. Pancakes, coffee and more served. Free taste samples. Dining/Music areas will be upstairs or out in the greenhouse.
Popcorn, maple snow cones, face painting for kids, kids' coloring and activities -outside and/or greenhouse
10:00 a.m. Tree tapping demonstration (meet on the front porch)
10:00 a.m. Slide show/video - downstairs
11:00 a.m. - 2 p.m. LIVE music with "Jack and His Guitar" upstairs
11 a.m. Class on maple sugaring - downstairs
11:30 a.m. Tour of sugaring operation- after class
12:00-3:00 p.m. LIVE music with the MMRock band - inside the greenhouse (or out if nice weather)
12:00 noon Tree tapping demonstration- meet on the front porch (dress appropriately for outdoors)
12:30 Slideshow/video - downstairs
1:00 p.m. Maple sugar candy making demonstration - downstairs
2:00 p.m. Class on maple sugaring-downstairs
2:30 p.m. Tour of sugaring operation-after class
3:00 p.m. Sugar-on-snow eat FREE taste samples -such a treat for those who are faithful to the end!
3:30 p.m. Slideshow/video
12th Annual Maple Festival
Saturday, March 10, 2018
10 a.m. ~ 4 p.m.
FREE admission
Sweet Wind Farm
339 South Road
East Hartland, CT
Open House Boiling Days
Every Saturday in March and on any other day we are boiling sap, we open our sugarhouse to the public and invite visitors to come in and watch us make syrup. You can observe sap boiling in the evaporator, smell the steam, view the whole process in action, and even have a taste sample of the finished liquid gold. Free admission. Please call ahead for hours as it depends on the sap flow and weather. We put our "Open House" signs out by the road when we are boiling, and post times our Facebook page too. NEXT DATES: March 10, March 24, March 31. Other times as they occur are posted on Facebook.
Classes and Tours for Groups
Sweet Wind Farm offers the perfect field trip for your group of any type and of all ages. Pre-K through High School, Homeschoolers, Scouts, Cooking Clubs, Senior Clubs: whatever your group is we can accommodate it with a tailor fit class for you. This class will be approximately 1 1/2 hours long, and will include a narrated slideshow with a hands-on class, a tour of the sugarhouse and equipment, an outdoor tour of our farm's maple trees, (and possibly seeing the sap dripping!), and will end with taste samples. A storybook is read for the younger ages too. The class will be geared towards the ages of those attending, anyone from 3-99! Sap boiling during your visit is not guaranteed, as it depends on the weather and sap flow at the time of your visit. All classes for groups must be scheduled in advance by calling Susan at (860) 653-2038 or emailing us.
FEE: $5.00 per student. Minimum of $50 for a class to be scheduled. Family cap at $20 as a courtesy for larger families, but the group must still meet the minimum. Under age 3 is free. If your group does not meet the minimum of $50, you may consider paying a group rate of $50 to hold a class. A class is held rain or shine since most of it is indoors. Be prepared with proper footwear (boots are recommended), warm coats, and umbrella if needed, for the outdoor portion of the tour. We can accommodate up to 25 people at a time. Handicapped accessible on the lower floor.
This class can be scheduled for any time of the year, but for the full experience, it is recommended you try and come during sugaring season, (which is typically February and March, maybe into the first two weeks of April).
Farmer's or Artisan Markets
Currently, we are not doing many Winter markets, as they run into sugaring season and we get super busy then. Check back with us in the Spring/Summer and we will keep you posted on markets we will be at. Keep in mind that you can always come to our farm store here and get our products whenever you'd like.
Billings Forge Pop-Up Market
Located in downtown Hartford at 539 Broad Street
December 16, 2017, and once a month January - April
http://billingsforgeworks.org/farmers-market/
*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.