CAYUGA NATURE CENTER'S 29th MAPLEFEST ATTRACTS OVER 1,000 VISITORS Cayuga Nature Center enjoyed record attendance at the festival this year, with over 1000 visitors participating in two days of festive fun, Saturday, March 29th and Sunday, March 30th. The event was held in collaboration with the NYS Maple Producers Association Maple Weekend.
During the two days, festival goers waited patiently in long lines for a pancake breakfast supported almost entirely with food from local farmers and suppliers. The staff, along with volunteers, cooked up vegan and buttermilk pancakes, eggs, homefries, and maple-glazed carrots, beets, and pork sausage. Farms that supported the brunch included Blue Heron, Stick & Stone, Sweetland, Cayuga Pure Organics, and Sabols Farm. Local supplier Regional Access provided NYS Maple Syrup and regional flour for pancakes. Music was rampant as the festival organizers added a stage in the dining room this year. Jazz, Folk, Bluegrass, Rock, and Old Thyme music was enjoyed both days by local talent, including Ira Kamp, Hee Haw Nightmare, the Wayward Girls, Shannon Hawley, Zela Zola, Mad Daddy, Native Earthling Band, Emily Arin, and the El Caminos. Attendees were also treated to special performances from Irish dancer Kay Cafasso and a demonstration by a local Capoeira group. Outside, CNC staff members led tours which took dozens of people at a time down the sugarbush trail, with stops at several stations telling the history of maple sugaring in the Finger Lakes. At the first stop, volunteers told legends of the discovery of sugar and demonstrated how Native Americans would boil sap with hot rocks heated over a fire. At the pioneer camp, baby sheep and stories of the first settlers to this area delighted young and old, and all were invited to try their hand making a collection spout, known as a "spiel", the old fashioned way. Finally, the tour ended at the CNC sugar shack, where sap was boiled and tastings of both pure sap from the tree as well as finished syrup were offered. Other activities were scattered throughout each day including a visit from the Cornell Raptors, face painting, crafts, and animal programs with CNC's collection of snakes, lizards, and birds. Community organizations including the Cornell Cooperative Extension Composters, Finger Lakes Native Plant Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Ithaca Youth Bureau shared their projects. The festival was a mere kick off to an exciting season of events at the center. CNC will offer several weekends throughout the Spring and Summer with tours, workshops, food and music. Our next major weekend will be May 16 through 19 and will include a benefit concert on Friday night, the opening of our Butterfly House on Saturday, and another tasty local foods brunch on Sunday morning. Please check our website for more details and for information on our summer camp, ropes course, and butterfly house tours. For more information call 607-273-6260 or visit www.CayugaNatureCenter.org. _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
