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Maple Syrup Boil Down Festival
Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave, Somerville, MA | Get Directions »
FREE
The following is from Groundwork Somerville:
Join Groundwork Somerville on March 3rd at the Somerville Community Growing Center for the annual Somerville Maple Syrup Project Boil Down! Community members of all ages are invited to 22 Vinal Avenue between 10am and 2pm to watch and learn as sap from local sugar maple trees is boiled down into pure maple syrup over a warm fire. Attendees can expect to enjoy syrup-tasting, children’s music by the Animal Farm, kids’ activities, demonstrations, and much more! Waffles, syrup, hot drinks and Somerville Maple Syrup Project T-shirts will be on sale.
At 11am and 12noon, Animal Farm will be entertaining Boil Down Festival guests! Animal Farm is a Boston-based trio of musicians and educators whose lively performances entertain and engage children ages 3 to 103! Each thirty minute show will be a colorful blend of original music, storytelling, hilarious antics and games.
The Somerville Maple Syrup Project coordinated by Groundwork Somerville in partnership with the Friends of the Community Growing Center, Somerville Public Schools, Tufts University, and dedicated community volunteers. Every February, local maple trees are tapped, and the collected sap is stored for a 2-day public boil-down event.
Throughout the season, Groundwork Somerville staff trains and supports community volunteers as they teach a 4-week arts and science curriculum to 2nd graders in all of Somerville’s public schools and lead educational activities at the boil-down event. High school students working in the metal shop provide annual maintenance on the wood stove and evaporator pan they made in 2005. The syrup produced is given as thank you gifts to key partners and sold in maple leaf jars at the “Grown in Somerville” booth at the Union Square Farmer’s Market and at Sherman Market. Come join us at this unique outdoor festival as we celebrate the spring and our urban natural resources!
Event Details
Photos
| Where | Somerville Community Growing Center 22 Vinal Ave, Somerville, MA 02143 |
| Next on | This event is over. |
| Time | 10:00 am–2:00 pm |
| Website | http://www.groundworksomerville.org |
| Price | $0 |
More About Somerville Community Growing Center
This educational garden and performance space takes the idea of compact gardening to a whole new level. On just over ¼-acre of sloping ground, the garden packs in an orchard, vegetable gardens, a grape arbor, a pond and stream, a labyrinth, an amphitheater, a solar-powered fountain and—safely in the back—a beehive. The event schedule is just as jam-packed. All of it is the work of a horde of volunteers that created the center in 1994 with the support of the City.
All are welcome to help garden or simply sit here. Meanwhile, numerous hands-on, after-school and vacation programs teach youths about science and nature. Special events also bring farm life to the city with activities such as maple syrup making and apple pressing. A busy arts calendar features concerts, dance, art shows, theater, storytelling and the occasional fanciful event like Fairy Night, where children don wings and flit about the greenery. If a volunteer can think of it, the garden will likely host it.
Others come to calm their minds at meditation groups or labyrinth walks. One thing we should all contemplate while there: this space was once just a steep sand pit on the former site of Southern Junior High. But once a few residents planted the seed—and rolled up their sleeves to tend it—it grew into a significant community resource.
