Hadley maple fest this weekend
Event features contests, vendors and music
HADLEY, N.Y. >> A Backyard Maple Syrup Makers Tasting Contest is one of many activities planned for this weekend’s Maple in April Festival in Hadley.
Any residents who have a maple tree or two on their property and boil their own sap can earn the bragging rights of producing the best tasting maple syrup.
The contest is only open to people who gather sap from fewer than 150 taps.
Syrup will be judged on its density, flavor and color by veteran maple syrup makers. Contestants should bring a pint of their finest syrup in a clear glass container to Wilder’s Sugar Shack, 4088 Rockwell St, before 11 a.m. Saturday.
Winners will receive a blue ribbon and bragging rights for producing the best tasting syrup in the neighborhood. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m. at the Hadley Business Association Welcome Booth, Rockwell Street, located between Stony Creek Road and the railroad tracks.
The festival is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, beginning with scholarship breakfasts both days.
Throughout the day there will be continuous family fun activities and sweet maple goodies to sample Guests may make maple cotton candy and maple popcorn at some of the vendor booths, and watch as plein-air artists create works of art.
Live musical entertainment will be headlined by wellknown local singers Bobby and Susie Dick, who will perform a diverse mix of reworked classics by Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Beatles, Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra and modern dance tunes by Creed, Lenny Kravtz, Foo Fighters and Sugar Ray.
They will take the Rockwell Street South Performing Arts stage at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Also, the Classical Jazz Trio with Denny Maher, on clarinet and saxophone, Thom Persons bass guitar and George Painter at the piano will open the festival stage each morning.
Brandon Scott, singer and song writer will take the Rockwell Street North Performing Arts Stage at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Jukebox Jim and his Karoke Mic will perform at 10 a.m. Sunday. The Tim Rodrigue and Norm Allen Duo perform from 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday. They play blues, soft rock, bluegrass and country.
The festival also has craft and food vendors, and children’s activities such as bounce houses and face painting, plus horsedrawn wagon rides.
A Dogs Day in the Park event is scheduled for Saturday, with every breed welcome.
A “Dust-off Car and Truck Show” is planned for Sunday at Hadley Smead Memorial Park, County Route 1 (Stony Creek Road). There is a $10 pre-registration fee or $15 at the gate.
Also Sunday, a silent art auction is scheduled to support the Hadley Business Association’s Scholarship Fund.