Kick off the Spring Season at Blandford's 49th Annual Sugarbush Festival
Mar 18, 2019 10:50AM ● By WLMagazine
Celebrate the arrival of Spring and maple syrup season in West Michigan during the 2019 Sugarbush Festival on Saturday, March 23rd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Blandford Nature Center located at 1715 Hillburn Ave NW, Grand Rapids MI 49504. For the forty-ninth year in a row, the festival will highlight the sap-to-syrup process while educating visitors on the history and science of making handmade, pure maple syrup.
Guests can learn the maple sugaring process through Sugarbush demonstrations & techniques including a taste test in our Sugarhouse. There will be activities for all ages including wildlife encounters, draft horses, maple cotton candy, games/crafts, face painting, blacksmith demonstrations, historical building interpretations, live music, and much more. Local food trucks such as El Caribe and Doughrunts will also be on-site selling concessions as well as The Printmobile doing screen printing.
“New this year, we are pleased to have tribal members present from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe!” said Amber Kilpatrick, Community Programs Manager. “We’re excited for these tribes to give presentations filled with hand drumming, songs, dance, storytelling, and Anishinabek language lessons while educating guests on Native Americans’ history in the traditional maple sugaring process.”
The event is open to the public with admission fees of $5 for members and $8 for non-members. Children 2 years and younger will be admitted for free. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased online.
About Blandford Nature Center: Blandford Nature Center’s mission is to engage and empower our community through enriching experiences in nature. This is accomplished through an active outdoor environmental lab, a team of passionate, knowledgeable people and a strong link from past to future promoting sustainability. Blandford offers a wide variety of experiences to support our mission and vision through dynamic partnerships and programming for all ages. For more information, please visit www.blandfordnaturecenter.org