Mar 11, 2008 - 08:46 AM
By Betty Zyvatkauskas
March means maple, a sweet month of syrup fests and lengthening days, time to savour the last snow of winter and the first sunny days of spring with syrup-soaked pancakes and a walk in the woods.
For more than three decades, families have been making the spring pilgrimage to Purple Woods Conservation Area for the annual maple syrup festival. Perched atop the Oak Ridges Moraine, this 17 hectare-site of old-growth maple forest and fields offers spectacular views all the way to Lake Ontario on a clear day.
Arrive early in the day and you may hear a pileated woodpecker hammering away in the trees, as you follow the .5-km trail downhill to the steamy warmth of the sugar shack. Popular horse-drawn wagon rides and pancakes are back this year while organizers have updated the festival with a new one-room-schoolhouse-style display to show youngsters some of the area's cultural and natural history. Both sap and snowmelt flow downhill, making paths muddy and sturdy boots essential. The festival runs March 8 through March 16, March 22-23 and 29-30. www.cloca.com/msf
Sunderland's 13th annual Maple Syrup Festival (March 29 and 30) is one of those spirited, small-town celebrations that manages to engage the entire community -- and its neighbours. Street vendors, horse-drawn wagon rides, petting zoo, bed races, cloggers and a midway keep visitors well entertained while pancake-lovers shamelessly stuff their faces at all-day breakfasts and eating contests. Buy tickets at the public school for the school-bus trip to Harlaine Maple, the local sugar bush. www.maplesyrupfestival.ca
A unique end-of-winter birdwatching experience at Brookside B and B is enjoyed from the comfort of the great indoors. Proprietor Corrine van de Grootevheen serves tea and home-baked treats while guests sit in plush chairs, watching the action at 20 bird feeders, through picture windows. Offered only on weekdays until the end of March, these two-to-three-hour mini-escapes are a "great way to lower the blood pressure, especially for seniors," says Ms. van de Grootevheen. "The cardinals are all twitterpated now so they are great fun to watch. We've had quail and red fox come by -- even a river otter sliding down the ice to the creek."
Guests may also sit outside, feeding chickadees and nuthatches by hand. Call 905-263-4285 to reserve.
For more of this season's best regional experiences, from ice fishing at Floyd Hale's Fish Huts in Beaverton to true Belgian waffles at Pickering's fabulous La Decadence Gourmande, check out the Explore Durham blog at http://durhamregion.typepad.com/explore_durham/
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