Kids are out enjoying their March Break, and in Kingston, Ont., one place to check out this week is the sugar bush.
Six-year-old Caden Corey may not have been to class this week, but he’s learning a lot about maple syrup.
“Water and sugar, and we want to get out of the water,” Corey says.
He and his cousins are exploring at the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area Maple Madness event in Kingston.
Keith Flood, Caden’s grandfather, says it is a great chance to get out.
“They love being in the bush, watching the sap get boiled, and they really like the wagon ride. I think they just like playing in the mud too,” Flood says.
All week long kids can learn about how maple syrup has been made over the centuries, with different stations showing different time periods.
The sap now starting to flow for the season here, families coming out in droves.
It’s the first one held since the pandemic began.
Krista Fazakerley, with Cataraqui Conservation, says they have been receiving about 1,000 visitors a day and it’s the largest event they’ve put on yet.
Lyric Murdock and her sister are exploring on Wednesday, surprised by their mom with their first trip to the sugar bush. They said it’s been a fun experience.
“We walked here, it was really pretty,” she says. “There’s a lot of maple syrup, and maple syrup is good.”
A debate also raging on the grounds – how much syrup to put on the pancakes? A lot or a little.
Taking a bite, for Emma Bailey, there’s no question
“These are delicious,” Bailey says of the pancakes.
And the plan to get as much as she wants? A sneaky one.
“Usually I just pretend I pour it accidentally,” she laughs. “It comes out fast so I don’t get in trouble.”
No matter how you take them, the sweet stuff, coming with a side of fun, for March Break.