The Maple Weekend event has been cancelled for 2020.
Maple Weekend usually takes place the first weekend of April and sees more than 15,000 visitors visit participating sugar bushes in Ontario, according to the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (OMSPA).
OMSPA says this year’s event had more than 80 producers scheduled to take part. They say the cancellation and the COVID-19 pandemic’s appearance during prime maple syrup season will be a blow to many maple syrup producers across the province that rely on direct to consumer sales to sell their products.
The OMSPA says early surveying has them anticipating a 30 percent decline in sales as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have a significant negative impact on small producers, festivals, and pancake houses.
OMSPA President Brian Bainborough says maple products and syrup will continue to be available at sugar bushes across the province, and encourages the public interested in purchasing maple syrup to reach out to their local sugar bush to make arrangements.
Written by Courtney Crowder