The maple syrup festival attracts a lot of people from out of town and is just one example of why the Brown family enjoys living in Paris.
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“It has a small town feel and has big town amenities,” Brown said as he fed his three-year-old son Kirby pancakes. “One of the things we really like about Paris is that there are so many activities.
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“There’s always something going on at the Paris Fair and events on weekends like the maple syrup festival.”
A resident of Paris since 2021, Brown, his wife Angela and two children – Kirby and Mabel – were among the first to enjoy this year’s Paris Maple Syrup Festival held in the downtown on Saturday.
Held by the Paris Lions Club annually, the event takes place on the second Saturday of April and features a breakfast of pancakes, sausages and maple syrup. Proceeds from the event are used by the club to support a range of community initiatives including Paris Lions Park.
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The festival features more than 50 vendors, local shops and artisans as well as Ontario producers of maple syrup like Ivan and Gail Cranston of Cranston’s Maple Syrup in Lucknow.
Wearing winter clothing the couple sat in a covered stall behind a display of their products. It was windy and cold but it wasn’t raining and the couple had experienced worse weather.
“We were here one year and there was an ice storm,” Ivan recalled. “It took us hours to get home with a lot of detours.”
But the weather has never stopped the couple from participating in the Paris event and they were anticipating another good day on Saturday.
Like many other maple syrup producers, the Cranstons tapped their trees earlier than ever before this year to get a good supply.
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Trees are usually tapped between mid-February and mid-March when daytime temperatures are above zero and nighttime temperatures are below zero.
The Cranstons tapped their trees the first week of February.
“I’m guessing it’s likely climate change but I really don’t know for sure,” Ivan said. “I think I’d have to see a couple of years like this before I could say for sure.”
Ken Linington, a Paris Lions Club director who has long been involved in the festival. was not at all fazed by Saturday’s frosty weather.
“Sure it’s cold and windy but people can adapt to that,” Linington said. “I’m just glad that it isn’t raining.”
The event began at 7 am and by 9 am there was a steady stream of visitors lining up for pancakes and sausages.
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“We’re really grateful for all of our sponsors including Tim Hortons, who donated coffee and hot chocolate, and Strodes, who donated the sausages,” Linington said. “We’re also grateful for all of our volunteers.
“Club members will be here all day and we’ve also got a lot of other volunteers, people who just want to help out, and students looking to get their volunteer hours.”
The crowd grew bigger in the afternoon as the sun came out making parking spots in the downtown hard to find.
Organizers were hoping to attract between 3,000 and 5,000 people.
The first festival was held in 2012 and was organized by the late Dan Moore who, after visiting another maple syrup festival, believed one in downtown Paris would attract a large crowd.
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