Lions gearing up to host 10th Maplefest

Who’s ready for the upcoming 10th annual Maple Festival? I know I am. With a whole new location this year at the Simek Recreation Center some of the events will be: Pancake Breakfast, Sugar Bush Tours, Maple Syrup Judging Contest, Maplefest Raffle Drawing, Crafters & Vendors, High Tech Redneck Display, Mischief and Magic Out of Green Bay. So I asked Ken Klahn and Dave Lemke, the creators of the Maple Festival some questions.

What are the best parts of the Maplefest and why should people go to it?

“This event is family focused, with something to do for all ages, from different activities, displays and educational events. Syrup Judging, pancake breakfast, food and beverage, craft displays, free bike drawing for kids and many more activities for the youth. A feature event this year is Mischief and Magic out of Green Bay, equipment displays, Youth red wagon parade, with cash prizes for the parade. The Lion’s club members believe that what benefits Taylor County as a whole, benefits everyone making Taylor County a great place to visit, work and hopefully live!”

Why did you start doing the Maplefest?

“In 2013 the Taylor County Tourism Committee was looking for an event that would highlight the beauty and industry in Taylor County. Maple Festival was the brain child of Tourism committee members, Ken Klahn & Dave Lemke. The goal was to create an event that encouraged visitors to come to Taylor County to witness the beauty and value of Taylor County, while supporting County businesses.

The sugar maple is Wisconsin’s State Tree, which contributes to everyone in our state. It was selected because of the dominance of maple trees in Taylor County and the significant impact it has on the economy of Taylor County.

Agriculture: Numerous large and small Maple producers in Taylor County help make our state the 4th largest producer of maple syrup in the country.

Wood crafts: Floors, furniture, guitars, and so much more are made from maple wood throughout our county.

Homemaking: Maple syrup and flavorings are used in thousands of recipes used daily by homemakers and chefs throughout our nation.

Environment: Our maple tree contributes to clean air, shade and home to many birds at an un-measurable value.

Tourism: The maple tree Fall colors attract tourism travel .

Taylor County Tourism needed an organization to create and manage the Maple Festival idea and found that there was one organization big enough to handle the event, the Lions Clubs of Taylor County. The 5 Lions clubs, Gilman, Jump River, Medford, Rib Lake, and Whittlesey, working together, have grown the festival into what it is today. The net proceeds from the event also benefit all of Taylor County because the Lions support numerous events and are donating their time to different needs in each community.

The goal of the Maplefest Committee is to provide education about the maple tree and maple syrup production, through the provision of free maple trees, syrup judging, equipment displays, crafts and youth involvement.”

How has the Maple Festival grown over the years and why move to the Simek Center?

“With the growth of Maplefest, expansion was needed to add more space at one site, provide comfort for our guests and to prevent the weather from hindering some of the activities that are central to Maplefest. April was chosen for Maplefest due to April being the Maple syrup producing month. The new location at the Simek Recreation Center will put most events in a temperature-controlled environment, weather permitting there will still be a few events outside like the adult pedal tractor competition,” Klahn said.

Why do you continue to do the Maple Festival?

“With the ever-changing population of Central Wisconsin, we want to continue to provide a family-centered activity that will also provide education to those that attend and from the tourism perspective, invite people to visit Taylor County and understand the benefits of the county. Each year we draw guests from further away and have generated new interest in the county and have received favorable comments about the event. Guests are coming from throughout the state and further, as an example we have a maple syrup entry from Nebraska. Our website is the central guide for the events, www. taylorcountylionsmaplefest.org. We feel we are meeting the goal of advertising all of Taylor County to the event participants by highlighting the fact that all areas of the county are represented by the Lions Clubs,” Klahn said.