Event to include pancake breakfast, 5k run/walk

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Wet wipes and napkins will be working overtime on Saturday as Vergas hosts its annual Maple Syrup Festival. 

The event will once again include the maple leaf hunt, sales at businesses in town, horse drawn wagon rides and more. 

The day will kick off with the pancake breakfast from 8-11 a.m., or until gone, at the Vergas Community Center. The pancake feed will feature fresh maple syrup and will include both indoor seating and a drive thru option. 

Sherri Hanson, who is helping to organize the festivities, said the drive thru option has been a popular one in the past. 

The cost for the pancake breakfast will be $10 for adults and $5 for children under the age of 10. 

The annual 5k run/walk will kick off at 9 a.m. in Vergas. Registration will be from 8-8:30 a.m. at Billy’s Corner Bar. The registration fee will be $30 and individuals can sign up ahead of time online at www.cityofvergas.com. Individuals who participate in the 5k run/walk will receive a free Maple Syrup Festival hat, while supplies last. 

Hanson encouraged individuals to preregister for the event for the best chance to receive one of the free hats. Medals will also be given away for the first 10 finishers of the event. 

One of the highlights of Saturday will include a maple syrup demonstration by representatives from Maplewood State Park. The maple syrup demonstration will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as local residents can learn the ins and outs of making their own maple syrup. The volunteers will show people how to tap the trees and even how to cook the sap into fresh maple syrup. 

A new event this year will be horse drawn wagon rides through Vergas. The rides will be free of charge and go from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

In addition to all of the events being planned in town, Hanson encouraged those who attend the festivities to take some time and walk through the businesses that make up the greater Vergas area. Many of the businesses are having specials and sales throughout the Maple Syrup Festival, which can be found on page 4 of this week’s Frazee-Vergas Forum.

“I just encourage people to take an extra hour to walk through town,” said Hanson. “(The businesses) want people to come in and see what they have created for Maple Syrup Festival.”