COLUMBUS, OH -- The maple sap is flowing at Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County and the 26th Annual Maple Syrup Festival is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3 & March 9-10, from noon to 4 p.m. daily. The festival is open to the public free of charge.
Park personnel drew 1,100 gallons of sap from the farm's sugar maple trees in recent days, and additional draws are underway in anticipation of the upcoming event.
Demonstrations of sugaring techniques from the time of the Native Americans through present day will be features of the festival weekends. A self-guided tour of the sugar camp and sugar shack will reveal the evolution of sugaring equipment and how maple sap is transformed into maple syrup. A peek inside the bell house, behind the Pugh Cabin, will take you back in time to a pioneers cabin (decorated and hosted by the Richland County Museum).
The Central Ohio Draft Horse Association will provide horse-drawn wagon rides to the sugar camp where free samples of maple syrup will be available. Pure Ohio maple syrup, homemade maple walnut fudge, and other maple products will be on sale during the event and in the Malabar Farm Gift Shop throughout the season. Light refreshments, snacks, and entertainment will be provided during the festival in the Pugh Cabin.
The Malabar Inn restaurant will be open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the month of March. The restaurant will offer brunch and dinner specials featuring maple syrup made on the farm. For reservations or more information call 419-938-5205. Additionally, overnight accommodations are available through Malabar Farm Hosteling International. Call 419-892-2055 for reservations.
Malabar Farm is located 12 miles southeast of Mansfield, just one mile west of State Route 603 on Pleasant Valley Road. Louis Bromfield, a world-renowned novelist and conservationist, created the farm in the early 1940s as a showcase for progressive conservation practices. Malabar Farm State Park is the only working farm in the Ohio State Parks system. Programs and special events are offered year round.
For more information about this or other programs, call the park office at 419-892-2784.
For Further Information Contact:
Louis Andres, Malabar Farm State Park
(419) 892-2784
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265