Maple Syrup Time Again!

 

Follow the signs to the 2026 Maple Syrup Festival!

(3/30/2026) More than 3,000 people made their way just outside of town to the Indian Creek Nature Center last weekend for the annual Maple Syrup Festival. Saturday featured a chilly wind which might have put a few people off, but by Sunday we were back to an unusual run of warm days this late winter/early spring. Long winter or mild one, it's a sure sign of spring when the sap has been running and it's time to gather at the Nature Center to eat last year's syrup.

Entering the Nature Center

Keeping the lines moving, and extra pancakes available for those going back for seconds--or thirds, for who's counting or judging when the syrup is genuine?--must be a strenuous logistical feat. And then there are the ticket takers, those clearing tables and washing dishes, and those in the field finding places for all the cars. Obviously the staff rely on a large number of volunteers (200+ in 2026, according to the Nature Center's Facebook page). Those of us who have only been on the outside, even after all these years, can only imagine and admire.

Volunteers kept the pancake train rolling

My family went over Sunday morning. There was plenty of sunshine for those who chose to eat outdoors...

Some took their syrup al fresco

...and plenty of music for those who chose the auditorium.

Inside Mike Maas, John Korkie, and Carlis Faurot (not pictured)
provided music

First round

After all those pancakes, the day and the trails beckoned:

Many people walked off their excess calories in the woods

Fungus holds still, unlike birds

These are without doubt perilous times for our country and our world, and so also for our communities. There is time for prophecy and protest, as indeed we had done the day before, along with about eight million of our closest friends. But there's also time for celebration of the joys of nature, and company, and the true community treasure that is the Nature Center.

The ability of the staff and volunteers to make all this work
year after year is simply... stunning!

The Nature Center thanks the event's sponsors: Alliant Energy, Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust, Central Iowa Power Cooperative, The Gazette, LUCC Local Union Community Charities, McGrath Auto, and Solum Lang Architects LLC--and so do I!

SEE ALSO: "The Sweet Science of Maple Syrup," Indian Creek Nature Center, 26 March 2026

LAST YEAR'S POST: "Nature Therapy, With Homemade Syrup," 30 March 2025