Over the weekend, I went with a friend to the Maple Sugarbush Festival. This two-day event, which serves as a fundraiser for Wesselman Woods, originally began in 1978.

I’ll start this review with what readers are probably most concerned about: were the pancakes any good?

The short answer is that they were. 

And, at risk of sounding like Plankton from “Spongebob SquarePants,” the long answer is: if anyone knows how they managed to make the pancakes so fluffy, please let me know. I promise I will take the secret to my grave and attend next year’s event, so sharing this information really won’t hurt Wesselman Woods.

Also, gotta say, shout out to Prairie Farms for sponsoring the event. I know the milk was probably meant for the children attending and not for 20 and 21-year-old college students, but in the face of chocolate milk, we are shameless, and it was delicious.

I really appreciated the efforts that they were making to be more sustainable, as events like these can generate a lot of trash in the form of napkins and single-use tableware. According to Wesselman Woods, this year, their plates, cutlery and cups were either biodegradable or compostable. 

They also offered a green incentive for attendees.

Attendees who brought reusable tableware could receive a free day pass to Wesselman Woods and their Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape. I brought reusable tableware for us, but it was not very clear how to collect the free passes. 

This didn’t matter to me because one of my goals for 2025 has been to be more environmentally conscious, so I would have brought the tableware with us regardless of the green incentive. Even though I would like to go again, as Wesselman Woods is one of my favorite places to go for walks, I am so busy that I don’t think I would have even had the chance to use the day pass if I had gotten one. But I do think that moving forward, it would be good to make it a little clearer to attendees where they can collect it, especially if they were motivated to bring tableware because of it.

Afterward, we went on a short walk around Wesselman Woods. 

I genuinely think that the best time to take a walk is when it is a little bit chilly outside. The crisp air is just so refreshing, and as someone who is always at least a little sleepy, a chilly walk just makes me feel so awake and alert. But I know that most people don’t feel the same way, so as much as I will encourage festival attendees to go for a walk while they’re there, it will probably be chilly, so keep that in mind.

If you plan to attend in the future, be sure to carefully read the email that they send after purchasing tickets online. This year’s email mentioned the weather, the location of their dishwashing station and the time and location of some of the events that they had planned, in addition to the other information that is already on their website. The events were mainly geared toward children, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for it if you plan to bring your little ones next year.

Regardless of who you plan to enjoy the event with, from my experience, I can assure you that there will be good food in support of a good cause.