Maine Maple Weekend turns sweet 42

Mar. 16—Just because Maine Maple Sunday is turning 42 this year doesn't mean the state's sweetest holiday is getting old.

There are always new farms and sugarhouses joining the event, new treats and activities being offered, and new places to discover. Even if you've been going to Maine Maple Sunday every year since it started in 1983, there's no possible way you could have hit every place on the ever-growing list.

It's become a two-day event over the years — Maine Maple Sunday Weekend — so you can theoretically visit twice as many sugarhouses and maple tree groves as you might have, a generation ago. This year's event is Saturday and Sunday.

You can find a detailed map and list of sugarhouses open for the weekend at the Maine Maple Producers Association website, including days, hours, activities and treats being offered. You can use the map to create your own route of sugarhouses near you, or in parts of the state you've always wanted to visit.

Here then are some suggestions for places to visit and things to do this Maine Maple Sunday Weekend.

CHRISTMAS IN MARCH

One of the first-time participants this year is Crooked Brook Farm in Wells, a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm with a brand new sugarhouse. It's actually a sawmill on the farm that has been newly converted to boil sap. Ryan Liberty, whose family owns the farm, has been tapping trees and boiling syrup as a hobby for more than 30 years. Once the farm began selling trees in 2023, Liberty decided to see if he could use the property's maple trees to make syrup on a commercial level, and attract more people to the farm.

"We realized we're in the business of making memories, people want to come out to the farm and have a memorable experience," said Liberty.

Besides getting to see how syrup is made, people can take a stroll among the farm's 4,000 trees, and maybe pick out a nice one for next holiday season. There will be cornhole games, fire pits and free syrup samples as well as maple candy, maple cream and maple-infused baked goods for sale from local bakers.

HOUSE PARTY

There's a new sugarhouse this year at Greene Maple Farm in Sebago. It's four or five times bigger than the old sugarhouse, so a lot more people can see how the syrup's made, said Alan Greene, the farm's owner and president of the Maine Maple Producer's Association.

Greene's father, Ted Greene, was one of the maple producers who created Maine Maple Sunday. Greene takes pride in the fact that the event has been copied by other states and across other industries, including Maine Apple Sunday, Wild Blueberry Weekend and Maine Open Farm Day.

"It's really the biggest day for every sugar maker in the state, we can't grow without these kinds of sales," said Greene. "It's great that people know there's a day when they can visit these places and that they can buy syrup or apples or other things from their neighbors."

At Greene Maple Farm this weekend, treats for sale include maple candy, cream, sugar, rubs, nuts, whoopie pies and more. Plus there'll be tours of the new sugarhouse and free samples of syrup on ice cream. The Greene family also owns Phillip View Farm nearby, so there'll be grass-fed highland beef and pasture-raised pork for sale, too.

ONE STOP SHOP

Merrifield Farm in Gorham really does up Maine Maple Sunday Weekend in a big way, offering a huge range of activities and treats. There's a pancake breakfast with outdoor seating, where you can also get maple baked beans. There's a boiling demo, a blacksmith, oxen, wagon rides, live music and the farm's "Of Days Gone By" museum, with old sugaring, logging, farming and ice harvesting tools and memorabilia.

Tickets are required for the museum. Some of the treats for sale include syrup, maple cotton candy, maple candy, fudge, maple coated nuts, whoopie pies, Needham's, soft-serve maple ice cream, preserves and more.

FLIP OUT

Pancake breakfasts are a big draw for a lot of people on Maine Maple Sunday Weekend. There are several places offering pancake breakfasts within an easy drive of Portland. They all sell treats and have other activities too. Royal River Orchards in New Gloucester will have breakfast on both days, with pancakes, bacon, applesauce, maple baked beans and a hot drink. Dunn Family Maple in Buxton will have a wild Maine blueberry pancake breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, as well as maple and maple bacon donuts for sale, too. Sweet William's in Casco will serve its pancake breakfast all day, both days, as well as maple-glazed donuts and other treats.

ROAD TRIP

If you're looking to explore parts of Maine you haven't seen before, creating a route of places to visit on Maine Maple Sunday Weekend is a good way to do that. Consider the picturesque hills and valleys of northern York County, near the New Hampshire border. It's not really on the way to anywhere, unless you're taking the scenic route from Portland to Green Mountain Furniture, in Ossipee, New Hampshire.

Some of the places in that area open for the weekend include Thurston & Peters Sugarhouse in West Newfield and Hilltop Boilers Maple Syrup in Newfield. Drive one town east to Limerick, and you can make stops at Scenic View Sugaring, Alderwood Farms and Hidden Roots Maple Farm.

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