Tosanak hosts first Maple Syrup Fest

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Tosanak Recreational Area brought in a big crowd for breakfast as Floyd County Conservation hosted its first “Maple Syrup Fest” on Saturday, March 9.

Known for producing locally sourced syrup from sap collected from the park’s trees, the conservation service invited people to visit the park for a freewill breakfast of pancakes and sausage.

“We’ve had an amazing turnout,” said Floyd County Conservation Naturalist Heidi Reams. “It helps that it’s a gorgeous day.”

The unseasonably warm weather hasn’t just helped with the crowd turnout. Temperatures have triggered an early start to the sap production process as the trees wake up from their winter dormancy. Already the park volunteers are collecting sap by the bucketsful to be refined into the breakfast condiment.

Visitors at the park got to see that process in action, making their way over to the “sugar shack” where volunteers explained how they evaporate 40 gallons of water out of the sap before it turns into a single gallon of sugary syrup.

Along with collecting freewill donations, a silent auction was also available for visitors to bid on a selection of donated items. Proceeds raised during Maple Syrup Fest go toward supporting the county’s Fossil & Prairie Park Preserve.

With a steady stream of people coming in for pancakes, Reams considered the inaugural Maple Syrup Fest a success and said she hopes to see it grow into a regular event for the park.

“We’re looking forward to it in the future,” she said.