Maple producers open doors to visitors this weekend

Roger Proulx collects sap from buckets on maple trees at Just Maple in Tilton. (Courtesy photo)

By ROGER AMSDEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

CANTERBURY — The centuries-old craft of making maple syrup will be on full public display Saturday and Sunday during the 23rd annual Maple Weekend.

Many producers will be offering samples of fresh syrup, maple candies and confections, coffee and doughnuts.

Some locations have pancake breakfasts, petting farms or horse-drawn rides. And most will be boiling so that visitors can get a look at the entire process of turning sap from maple trees into sweet syrup.

Maple producers in East Canterbury have joined together to offer a variety of experiences over the weekend at the first-ever Canterbury Maple Festival.

Visitors can start off on Saturday with a pancake breakfast, hosted by Canterbury Shaker Village, visit Tamarack Farm, Hill’s Corner Sugar Shack, Cold Garden Distillery, join North Family Farm at Canterbury Shaker Village, stop into David and Janet Lamb’s sugar house and shop, and visit Canterbury Aleworks to taste beer brewed with local maple syrup.

Displays of both modern and historic processes will be presented and visitors can enjoy samples and learn about the Canterbury Shakers’ extensive sugaring operation, how they tapped and produced their own maple products.

The pancake breakfast will be held from 9-11 a.m. in the Creamery and at 11 a.m. Mark Stevens will talk about Shaker sugaring.

David Lamb is a well-known furniture maker who said he’s always been fascinated by maple sugaring, having grown up not far from Ancestral Acres in New Hampton where there was a large maple sugaring operation run by the Moulton family.

“It’s a real traditional New England experience,” said Lamb, who’s been making maple syrup for about 24 years at his small operation next to his woodworking shop on Shaker Road in Canterbury.

He has expanded his operation in recent years and now taps over 500 trees and makes around 100 gallons of syrup a year.

“It’s probably not the best use of my time, but it’s something I really enjoy and it keeps me in touch with a tradition I love,” said Lamb.

Roger Proulx of Just Maple in Tilton has been making syrup at his current location for 25 years and expects a busy weekend this year.

“We’ll be boiling both days and we usually have hundreds of visitors,” says Proulx, who will be offering tours of his operation for both children and adults.

Proulx taps about 700 trees and makes about 150 gallons of syrup a year. He says that he uses pine, spruce and hemlock slabs in his wood-fired boiler because they produce a fast-burning fire with the intense heat needed to boil the sap rapidly.

At his shop, on School Street, Proulx sells every kind of maple product imaginable. His wife, Barbara, makes much of the product and others come from a larger operation in Plainfield that he partners with.

Among the foods that can be sampled at the open house are maple-baked beans, maple three bean soup and hot dogs that are steamed in maple sap.

The New Hampshire Maple Producers Association website shows 29 Lakes Region sap houses participating.

For a map of participating sap houses, visit www.nhmapleproducers.com.

Roger Proulx uses softwood slabs to create an intense fire in his wood-fired boiler at Just Maple on School Street in Tilton. (Courtesy photo)

Where to go on Maple Weekend

Abbott Farm Sugarhouse

503 Sheridan Road, Moultonborough

284-7073

Bridgewater Mtn. Maple

887 Bridgewater Hill Road, Plymouth

968-3972

Eldridge Family Sugar House

151 Plains Rd, Tamworth

986-1830

Fillion Maple Farm

336 Middle Route, Gilmanton

267-6494

Huckins Maple Farm

333 Sanborn Road, Tilton

393-7036

Hunters Sugar House

426 Mountain Road, Tuftonboro

496-8212

Hutchinson’s Family Sugarhouse

271 Hackleboro Road Canterbury

783-4691

Journey’s End Maple Farm

295 Loudon Road, Pittsfield

435-5127

Just Maple at Green Acres Farm

475 School Street, Tilton

520-2373

Lamb’s Maple Syrup

228 Shaker Road, Canterbury

783-9912

Maple Ridge Sugar House

268 Loudon Ridge Road, Loudon

608-8334

Mud Season Maples

263 Route 129, Loudon

783-1154

Ossipee Mountain Maple Syrup

236 Mountain Road, Sandwich

496-2343

Pearl & Sons Farm

409 Loudon Ridge Road, Loudon

435-6587

Red Roof Maples

7064 Pleasant St. Ext Loudon

724-5768

Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm

58 Cleveland Hill Road, Tamworth

323-7591

Robie’s Sugar House and Saw Mill

217 Town Pound Road, Alexandria

455-2171

Shepherd’s Hut Market

637 Morrill St., Gilford

527-1873

Smith Farm Stand

15 Smith Farm Road, Gilford

524-7673

SP’s Sugar Shack

150 Valley Rd, Center Ossipee

539-7382

Spike’s Shack o’ Sugar

Pines Road, Plymouth

254-7351

Still Seeking Farm, LLC

317 Loon Pond Road Gilmanton

267-5326

Sunnyside Maples, Inc.

1089 Route 106N, Loudon

783-9961

Tamarack Farm

115 Asby Road, Canterbury

783-9226

Todd’s Sugar Works

78 Rogers Rd., Belmont

527-2505

Trail Side Sugar House

246 Currier Road, Andover

748-1307

Turkey Street Maples

673 Turkey Street, Chocorua, Tamworth

323-9320

Windswept Maples

845 Loudon Ridge Road Loudon

267-8492

Young Maple Ridge Sugarhouse

301 Wing Road, Sandwich

362-9934

Steam rises from a full boil at David Lamb’s maple syrup operation on Shaker Road in Canterbury.(Courtesy photo)