Come and join us for another great annual sugar shack and sink your teeth in the
good old tradition of maple syrup on a stick.
On the menu: Maple syrup, maple tea, Fiddling & smiles.
Everything to get you warmed up.
Sticks are $4 per person.
Timings will be from 1:00pm-4:00pm
Where it all came from:
The art of taping maple tree to extracts its syrup dates back before European contact in
the New world but Historically, sugar houses were a tradition introduced to New France
by settlers of Swiss and Normand origin throughout the 17th century. Their purpose was
the production of warming and delicious syrup for trade or sale, and for personal use during
the cold months of Winter. After the British conquest of 1763, the tradition carried along to
the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia but remained the only family-related
tradition in Quebec.
Today many sugar houses are commercially run and many also offer reception halls and outdoor
activities open to the general public during certain months. Many of these activities include sleigh
-riding, tours of the grounds, and eating maple toffee made in the house often in front of the
clientele. The reception halls cater to large groups offering many varied dishes complemented by
maple syrup. These dishes range from ham, bacon, sausages, baked beans, scrambled eggs,
pork rinds, and pancakes to many other breakfast type dishes. There are also specialties like
homemade pickles, homemade breads, followed by desserts like sugar pie and maple taffy on the
snow.
The utmost exploitation of sugar shacks roughly covers the period from late October to early April,
when maple sap becomes available. However, at temperatures below 0 Celsius, it is practically
impossible to extract the sap, and therefore all efforts are mainly put in the thawing period of early
Spring. The activity is usually performed during the two first weeks of April, and has since become
both an annual celebration of Spring and the connotation of the upcoming Easter.