The Sweetest Success!
Mar 24th, 2010 by Laurel Atkinson
The culmination of our pilot program, We’d Tap That!, was an amazing day of fun, music, sap, and syrup! Held at Dufferin Grove Park Sunday March 14th, hundreds of folks came out for a taste of Toronto’s own Norway Maple syrup. Participants were invited to taste the original sap, and compare it to the final syrup. Here are some comments overheard from such syrup sommeliers:
“Tastes kind of woody”
“It’s sweeeeeeeeet!”
” It reminds me of that hazelnut liqueur, Frangelico. Frangelico mixed with white vanilla!”
We also had some fantastic library books on-hand, and one tidbit of information stuck out for me. Apparently, students in maple-syrup country would be excused from school for a time in March so that they could help out those families involved in syrup production. Makes me wonder if we actually have maple syrup to thank for March Break…..
The We’d Tap That! organizing crew was a tireless, fearsome bunch who researched, tapped, collected, and worked long hours to ensure that this pilot program, and the event, were a success. Not Far From the Tree can’t thank the following team enough: Heather, Val, Joanne, Todd, and Sarah. We’d also love to thank those folks who were available for consultation, as well as moral support: John and Fran, Don, Torrie, Laurie, and Lynn.
Of course, the syrup never could have happened without the donation of the evaporator pan, so thanks, Kevin! The taps were also graciously donated by Philip of Maple Kits. And what event would’ve been complete without the sweet serenading of a bluegrass band? Special thanks to Makita Hack and the Log Rollers for sharing their fine tunes. Our good friends at Chocosol provided us with the mini tasting cups for our syrup.
We also had some amazing volunteers serving up pancakes and maple beans in the Zamboni cafe. Special thanks also goes to city staff , especially Anna, and the Friends of Dufferin Grove Park. Thanks also to Beth McEwen and Andrew Pickett at Parks, Forestry, and Recreation for taking the time to learn about this exciting program.
Heather has written her own blog post, which talks about the program. You can read about it here.
What a wonderful kick-off to the 2010 growing season! After all — maple syrup is the first crop of the year.
