This year’s fun, sticky, and oh-so-sweet National Maple Festival will be held at the Story Inn, 6404 Indiana Highway 135, Nashville, Indiana, March 2 and 3, 2019.

A grand celebration of all things maple, the festival will bring together maple sugar producers and hobbyists, maple syrup connoisseurs, and visitors of all ages for a weekend full of activities and events.

Road Trips Foodies will see first-hand how syrup is made during Native American, early French American, and modern-day sugaring demonstrations. Arts and crafts from Indiana Artisans also will be on display and for sale. There will be Dutch oven cooking demos by “the Dutch Oven Diva“, Lesley Tennessen (pictured). Recipes will feature maple syrup, of course.

The National Maple Syrup Festival also will include local and regional food vendors, beer, wine, and spirits, including Brown County’s Bear Wallow Distillery which will be debuting a special release maple-finished Gnaw Bone Bourbon. There will be plenty of maple syrup from Indiana producers, and music by local musicians.

Tickets to the main festival grounds are $10 for adults, and free for children under 12. Tickets include admission for both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are available online or at the festival entrance gate.

Chris Cakes will be serving up “hotcakes with a side of entertainment” during the festival’s Pancake Breakfasts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 2 and 3 at the Story Inn. Cost is $12 for adults and $6 for kids 11 and under.

The National Maple Syrup Festival also will include a special Maple-Inspired Dinner at the Story Inn at 6 p.m. March 2. Four maple-infused courses will be paired with local brews and spirits. Tickets are $65 per person, and can be purchased online. Note: you must be 21 or older to attend this dinner.

Another fun foodie event will be the Sweet Victory Challenge from 1 to 5 p.m. March 3. A festival tradition, this cooking competition gathers recipes from across the nation featuring maple syrup in breakfast, savory, and sweet categories. Then, the top five recipes from each are picked and prepared in-house at the Story Inn, where they are presented to judges to pick their favorites. (The audience will get to taste-test a few too.) The Sweet Victory Challenge is free and open to the public but has limited seating.

Originating in Medora, Indiana, in 2010, the festival moved to Brown County in 2015. Geographically, Indiana holds the southern and westernmost position in the United States’ Maple Sugar Belt meaning as winter gives way to spring the sap flows first in Indiana’s maple stands.

According to the organizers, “As Indiana’s most densely forested county, Brown County is an ideal location for the National Maple Syrup Festival as it is rich in natural resources, home to a wide variety of maple trees, and reflects the pioneering essence and history of maple sugar production.”

While festival headquarters will be buzzing with activity all weekend long, there will be plenty of maple fun going on in the Village of Nashville as well. Check out the free Sap School at the Visitors Center from 10 to 11 a.m. March 2. Learn the basics of maple syrup from a Brown County producer, then head out for a short walk where you’ll learn how to identify maple trees and even get to see a tree or two get tapped.

There’s also Maple on the Menu in March in Brown County. Participating restaurants and shops will have “Maple on the Menu” signs in their windows.

(Photo courtesy of Dutch Oven Diva)