Canterbury Maple Festival will have pancake breakfast, maple treats

CANTERBURY — Experience a sweet weekend during the town-wide Canterbury Maple Festival on Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22. From buttermilk pancakes and samples of other maple treats, to touring sugar houses and learning how to start sugaring, there is fun for the whole family. Kids can enjoy special activities like meeting farm animals including goats, chickens, pigs and cows.

The weekend begins with a pancake breakfast at Canterbury Shaker Village, 8-11 a.m., offered both Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, in the Creamery building. Suggested donation is $20 per family. King Arthur Flour and Cabot Creamery have provided ingredients, and festival participants contribute maple syrup.

Also at the village both Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tim Meeh and Jill McCullough from North Family Farm will share maple syrup samples and demonstrate maple candy making at 11 a.m.

Catch an illustrated talk by University of New Hampshire Extension Field Specialist Tim Fleury and learn how easy it is to get started with backyard maple sugaring at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, at the village. The Dewey School will offer family activities throughout the day on Saturday, and Winnipesaukee Chocolates will offer specialty chocolate bars samples 1-3 p.m.

Experience the process of making maple syrup at four nearby sugarhouses. Lamb’s Maple Syrup on Shaker Road will be open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. Sunnyside Maples on Route 106 will be open both days, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and the Moore family will be offering tours of their modern sugarhouse, as well as live music. Hill’s Corner Sugar Shack on Shaker Road will be open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. both days. In addition to maple syrup, they produce skincare products made with organic and natural ingredients. Briar Bush Farm on Briar Bush Road will boil sap all weekend, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nate and Sharon Jarry will offer samples of maple syrup and goats’ milk fudge. They also make soaps, lotions, and candles with Nigerian dwarf goat milk.

Adults only can visit Canterbury Aleworks brewery and Cold Garden Spirits distillery. Steve Allman’s Canterbury AleWorks on Baptist Hill Road will be serving their maple season beer 1-5 p.m. all weekend, a collaboration with David Lamb of Lamb’s Maple Syrup. Cold Garden Spirits on Shaker Road will be open Saturday 1-5 p.m., and on Sunday noon-4 p.m., featuring their new release of maple bourbon. The bourbon matured for 90 days in an oak cask that previously held North Family Farm’s maple syrup. “The subtle flavor of sweet maple gives this bourbon a very smooth taste,” said Owner Greg Meeh. North Family Farm’s bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup will also be featured.

Fox Country Smoke House, open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. all weekend and located on Briar Bush Road, is celebrating 51 years in operation with facility tours and samples of maple kielbasa and cheeses.

At Brookford Farm, open 10 a.m.-4 p.m., visitors will find maple Greek yogurt made with syrup from North Family Farm. Owners Luke and Catarina Mahoney invite visitors to take self-guided tours to meet their cows, pigs and chickens.

J & J’s Yolk and Co. in Belmont, at the junction of Routes 106 and 140, will be serving Saturday 6 a.m.-2 p.m., and Sunday 7 a.m.-1 p.m. The menu includes maple cinnamon rolls and pancakes with maple syrup.

Plan a visit by viewing a map and full schedule by visiting shakers.org/canterbury-maple-festival.