VERGAS — The Maple Syrup Festival in Vergas is an early-spring tradition that typically brings out between 600-700 area residents to enjoy a pancake and sausage feed, 5K run/walk and horse-drawn wagon rides.
Unfortunately, icy roads on Saturday, April 1, meant that two of those three events — the 5K run/walk and the wagon rides — were canceled.
"We didn't want anyone getting hurt," explained Vergas Mayor Julie Bruhn, who was also the co-chair of this year's festival.
The paid attendance at the pancake and sausage feed, which was held on Saturday as scheduled, undoubtedly took a hit because of those aforementioned icy roads, as well as the canceled events.
"We served 386 at the Maple Fest pancake breakfast," Bruhn said. "This is down from 662 the prior year. Factors for lower attendance may have included a combination of weather, weekend people not yet coming to the area due to snow, and no 5K run."
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Nevertheless, Bruhn added, the organizers were quite pleased with how many people did show up to enjoy the breakfast of pure, locally produced maple syrup, freshly made pancakes and Polish sausage, served up by Vergas Lions Club members.
The annual festival is co-sponsored by the Lions and the Vergas Community Club, of which Bruhn is a member.
The Community Club was also gearing up to host its first-ever Polka Dance Party , featuring the Chmielewski Funtime Band , which is set for Sunday, April 16 at the Vergas Event Center (140 W. Linden St.). The band will be playing a host of traditional polka favorites from 1 to 4 p.m., and there will also be free popcorn (courtesy of Ditterich Mercantile) and a cash bar (courtesy of Spanky's Stone Hearth). Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children age 16 and under.
Meanwhile, over at Maplewood State Park, sunny skies produced a good crowd for the Friends of Maplewood's annual Maple Syrup Demonstration Day. Attendees learned how maple syrup is made at the park's "Sugar Shack," and then enjoyed some tasty maple-flavored treats.
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