You’ve heard of bumper to bumper traffic. In Elmira, it was plate to plate.
An estimated 70,000 people carried fork in hand on Saturday during the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, the world’s largest single event of its kind.
Premier Kathleen Wynne was among the masses. The summer is sometimes called ‘the barbeque circuit’ in politics so Wynne helped dish out a taste of spring on Saturday. “The best pancake has real maple syrup on it. I am really a stickler about that.”
2000 volunteers help pour the 210 gallons of maple syrup to make the event run. Corinne Taylor was one of them, flipping flap jacks. “Oh my gosh, I have probably laid out 500 already but I have lost count. There is way too many.”
$4 got you one pancake or you could opt for a double stack for an extra dollar. Now in its 49th year, the festival continues to grow.
“It’s crazy. It’s kind of hard to get around”, remarked one patron.
Another says, “I live in town and everyone looks forward to this day. They all come up to grandmas and hangout.”
The one day event was filled with 13 different events, all with a maple syrup theme, and many of them family-friendly.
Some patrons remarked that it took up to an hour to get a pancake. In spite of that, many said the wait was worth it. “They look delicious. They are huge and I just can’t wait. My tummy is rumbling”, said hungry Wendy Davila-Hill.
