Sugarers say they appreciate VT. Maple Festival business

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Despite a wonky sugaring season, spirits ran high at the 57th annual Vermont Maple Festival.

The three-day event features maple products, crafts and entertainment, a Sap Run and a Sunday parade down St. Albans’ Main Street. Visitors marveled at the sugar-fueled celebrations. “I like the guys on the motorcycle and the people that give you high fives and stuff,” Khloe Mobbs of Georgia said. Dance parties and “syrup things” were Charlotte Dequette and Majenna Star’s festival favorites.

For sugar makers, the weekend is a touching tribute to their tireless work. “It means quite a bit, actually,” Matthew Depatie of Double D Maple said. “It’s nice to see the community and everybody coming out and supporting what we do.”

That support means more after a warm, highly unpredictable season. While Depatie added 400 new taps to his production, he still fell 50 gallons shy of his expected syrup crop. “It wasn’t a horrible year but the weather hit,” Depatie reflected. “The sugar content was there but the gallonage was not. Bad years…they hurt. It’s just like farming: you can’t keep going if you have bad years.”

Cathy Branon with Branon’s Barrywilde Maples says many producers are expanding their maple products and investing in better equipment to manage seasonal changes. But those upgrades come at a cost. “We need good seasons. We need to be able to collect the sap and produce the maple syrup that’s going to in turn pay for that,” Branon explained.

A record number of sugarers are asking the state for help. Over 350 producers applied for maple grants in November, with just eleven receiving aid – around $540,000 total. Sugarers say it’s a sign that more state supported is needed on tap.

Despite rising strains on the maple industry, the festival is also a reminder of enduring sweetness. “It’s kind of a joke, in a way, outside of Vermont that we love maple syrup,” Colchester-native Kaiya Provost laughed. “But I don’t think it’s a joke so much as just an absolute sincere celebration of who we are.”

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