Madison Reporter

As many as 4,000 people were expected to turn out at the MacKenzie Center Maple Syrup Festival on Saturday, April 2, as the event returned to Poynette after two years off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Revelers were expected to begin convening early for the 8 a.m. kickoff, on the grounds of the historic, 285-acre property in Columbia County, where more than 100 maple trees are tapped each March, according to a report by NBC 15.

“The whole reason we do this is to show the connection that we have with the land, with the maple trees, and to help kids get outdoors and see rich heritage that belongs to Wisconsin and to the land that we have here,” MacKenzie Center Park Manager Aaron Loenhorst told NBC 15.

From 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., the public was free to gather to learn about the process of tapping the trees and making the syrup, NBC 15 reported. “Live music, horse drawn wagon rides, interpretative displays, a scavenger hunt, ice cream, and more,” was also available.

Visitors were also able to take a look inside the “Sugar Shack,” where the sap is placed in “The Arch Stove” and over the span of a few hours boils down until the concentration becomes thick in a technique that is known to date all the way back to the Civil War, according to the report.

“We go through the science, looking at the ecology of the trees and actual process of tapping,” Loenhorst said. “We go through the history and the cultural history of the Native Americans who were doing this long before we were in North America.”

According to Loenhorst, center founder Harley MacKenzie planted the trees across the property decades ago. Up to 120 trees that were tapped are around 70 years old, which Loenhorst said is very mature for a maple tree. Those trees produced about 700 gallons of sap this March.

“We have several different species that we’re collecting from,” Loenhorst said. “We’ve got sugar maples, which generally the sap has a little bit higher of a sugar content. But we also have red maples, we have black maples, there are also a few silver maples.”

While the syrup produced at the MacKenzie Center will not be sold because it is not Food and Drug Administration approved, organizers planned to offer real maple syrup that is FDA approved for purchase at the festival, NBC 15 reported.

The sugar maple is the state tree of Wisconsin, according to NBC 15. The Badger State is the fourth largest producer of maple syrup in the nation.