Maple syrup workshops, a lunar eclipse, lasers: Get outside, Michigan
- Late March and early April are prime time for maple syrup production
- A lunar eclipse will be visible in Michigan (weather permitting) in the early hours of Friday
- Looking for a way to celebrate Pi Day (March 14)? A Midland group is hosting a hike
Michigan is the fifth-largest producer of maple syrup in the United States and the conditions are right to start making it now.
When nightly temperatures fall below freezing and rise above 32 degrees during the day, it creates pressure within trees. Drilling into a maple tree allows sap to flow from roots or branches that can be boiled into syrup.
That’s what the more than 200 licensed producers in Michigan are doing now. To see how it works, check out one of the many workshops that are available across the state.
Related:
Southeast Michigan
- Johnson Nature Center in Bloomfield Township is hosting the last of its maple sugaring events, Sap Happy, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Tour a sugar shack and log cabin and learn how to identify and tap a sugar maple tree. $12 per person. Children 1 and under get in free. Register and find more information here.
Southwest Michigan
- The 55th annual Sugarbush Festival is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids. The event includes demonstrations, food such as maple cotton candy, entertainment and concessions. Tickets are $10.40 for members, $13 non-members, children 3 and under free. More info here.
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Mid-Michigan
- Watch traditional and modern methods at Fenner Nature Center’s Maple Syrup Festival in Lansing from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 22 and 23. Suggested donation is $5. Pay $10 more a plate for all-you-can-eat pancakes made by Chris Cakes, which purportedly has world records for flipping flapjacks. More information is here.
- The Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival, which claims to be Michigan’s first such festival, is April 25 to 27. In addition to maple syrup, producers will sell candies, crème and more. There will be a pancake derby, a princess pageant and two parades. More info here.
Northern Michigan
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear are hosting Maple Sugaring Days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 22 at the Dechow and Olsen Farms in Maple City. Learn about modern methods as well as traditional Anishinaabe processes. Visit a historic sugar shack, see sap boiling demonstrations and sample maple syrup. Free with a park pass. More info here.
- Bonz Beach Farms in Onaway is hosting maple syrup production tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Come see maple sap get pumped into a 4,200 gallon tank. For more information email BonzBeachFarms@gmail.com or call 989-326-0895.
The Upper Peninsula
- Postma Brothers Maple Syrup in Rudyard is participating in Michigan Maple Weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 5. The family-owned farm has produced maple syrup since 1901. Contact Kevin Postma with questions: (906) 478-3960, gwmaples@yahoo.com.
Other great ways to get your outdoor fix:
Friday
- The Delta College Planetarium in Bay City is hosting a lunar eclipse watch party on its rooftop observation deck from 1:10 a.m. to 3:30 a.m (weather permitting). Binoculars and telescopes are available for the free event. More info here.
- Come for the eclipse, stay for the Pi. March 14, or 3/14, for math nerds is “Pi Day.” You know, because 3.14 is the first three digits of the mathematical constant used in the calculation for the circumference of a circle? Anyway, Little Forks Conservancy is having a Pi Day Hike at, you guessed it, 3:14 p.m. in the Riverview Natural Area in Midland. More info here.
- Missed the eclipse? Celebrate the full moon with night hikes at Huron-Clinton MetroParks: There are 8 p.m. walks at Oakwoods in New Boston and Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township and one at 8:30 p.m. at Hudson Mills in Dexter. Cost for each is $5.
Saturday
- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is hosting a turkey hunting clinic at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center in Cadillac. Find out about habitat and learn calling techniques and recommended hunting gear. Plus, brush up on spring turkey hunting rules and regulations. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $25 and includes lunch. More info here.
Thursday
- Lasers will light up the Lower Harbor Ore Dock in downtown Marquette from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 20-22. Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette are collaborating on the free event. More info here.
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