• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Covenent Harbor's Maple Syrup Fest: How sweet it is

In this file photo from Covenant Harbor's annual Maple Fest, children take turns boring holes in trees to collect the sap that makes maple syrup. Lynn Greene/staff.

LAKE GENEVA — With limbs akimbo, the maple trees seem to cry out for help — yet they are steadfast, perched on hill and plain, scattered about the acres of Covenant Harbor in Lake Geneva. They need help getting their precious syrup down to the evaporation house where it is made into sweet syrup for visitors to enjoy.

Counselors at Covenant Harbor jump in to assist each spring when coils of bright blue plastic piping is strung from each tapped tree downhill to a collection point. The tubing replaces the old spout and bucket, or in more recent years, bags that always have collected the sap. Running the tubing downhill frees up a bit of the labor needed for making the syrup since the sap uses the pull of gravity to go where it is wanted.

Each year, Covenant Harbor invites the public to see this natural phenomenon for themselves. This year’s Maple Fest is set for March 21. See how the syrup is made, enjoy children’s games and activities, a craft fair, and helicopter rides. The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the camp, 1724 Main St., in Lake Geneva. For more information, call (262) 248-3600 or go to www.covenantharbor.org.

For more events read the e-edition of Weekender HERE.