VERGAS — Sunny skies and pleasant spring temperatures meant big crowds for this year's Maple Syrup Festival in Vergas on Saturday, April 13.
The Vergas Lions and Commercial Club had already served more than 450 people as the festival's big event — a pancake and sausage feed with locally produced maple syrup — entered its last hour at the Vergas Event Center on late Saturday morning. And the lines still weren't getting any shorter.
"We've been busy," said Vergas Mayor Julie Bruhn, as she was rushing between tables trying to ensure that attendees had everything they needed for their meal. "We've been running around trying to get more food... we're running out.
"But that's a good problem to have," she added. Bruhn is also a member of the Vergas Commercial Club, which sponsors the annual festival along with the Vergas Lions.
Lions Club member Lyle Krieg was enjoying his job as flapjack flipper, with some of the pancakes having "Mickey Mouse ears" attached, while others were the more traditional circular shape.
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Though the feedback had generally been positive, Krieg said, he did get one critique from a young attendee: "He asked why I didn't have any that were dinosaur-shaped," Krieg said with a laugh.
Besides the pancake feed, and the horse-drawn wagon rides out back of the Event Center that were offered throughout the morning by Farm 41, other Maple Syrup Fest events were moved downtown this year, with activities taking place in and around the Summers Design Center.
For the first time since pre-COVID, organizers had scheduled a Maple Syrup Producers Contest, which took place inside the Desigin Center. "We had 24 entries," said Sherri Hanson, who was one of the judges this year, along with a pair of visiting royalty: Anika Morris, ARB (American Royal Beauties) Ms. Minnesota, of Burnsville, and Corina Morris, ARB Ms. Northern States, who came all the way from Menomenie, Wisconsin.
Judging was done on the basis of the syrup's clarity (any entries containing visible particles or excessive cloudiness were automatically rejected), density (i.e., thickness), color and taste, Hanson said, with the top prize going to Detroit Lakes resident Troy Heinle (who was not present to receive his trophy during the awards ceremony).
Both Anika Morris and Corina Morris declared that Heinle's syrup was "hands down the best of anyone here" in terms of taste. Second-place honors went to Vergas resident David Trickle — whom Hanson noted was the winner of Vergas's first-ever maple syrup-tasting competition, back in 2017.
Others who placed in the competition were as follows:
- 3rd Place: Tera Guetter, Detroit Lakes;
- 4th Place: Anthony Peeters, Menahga;
- 5th Place: Ron Woods, Campbell, Minnesota.
Some of the competitors also had booths at the festival's vendor fair, which was located inside and outside the Design Center. Woods, for instance, was offering little tasting cups of his medium amber syrup, infused with different fruit flavors that were created using "100% pure fruit extract."
Elsewhere in the Design Center, singer Kate Lachowitzer was strumming her guitar and singing a wide range of tunes, including a crowd-pleasing version of "Tennessee Whiskey."
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Outside, there were some fun kids' activities as well, such as a mini-petting zoo offering baby goats and puppies for both kids and adults to enjoy. Face painting, maple leaf hunting and "magic" coloring page booths were also set up for families to enjoy together.
Earlier in the day, there was a "Saps Running in Vergas" 5K fun run and walk, and a mid-morning presentation by local maple syrup producer Stu Peterson titled "Back to the Maple Basics."
Meanwhile, over at nearby Maplewood State Park, the annual Maple Syrup Demonstration Day was held, with tours of the park's Sugar Shack as well as outdoor demonstrations of various maple syrup-making activities. Before they left, guests could purchase some food for lunch, then get a complimentary cup of ice cream toped with locally-produced maple syrup before heading out to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
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