Maple Sugaring 2022 Recap

On March 26th, 2022, a handful of families arrived at Silver Lake for another installment of Silver Lake Maple Sugaring. This perennial favorite welcomes families of every shape and size to God's beautiful backyard to spend time outdoors with other families, make new friends, visit with old friends, and learn about and celebrate the glory of maple sugaring.  

Dean Sara Capalbo led the day’s activities.  After the usual camp greeting and housekeeping bit thanks to the year-round staff, the day began with opening worship.  If you’ve been to any programs at the Lake, you know how special and moving this part gets.  If you haven’t, you really should add it to your faith bucket list!  

The group played some fun “get to know you” games.  Of course, they spent time hanging out at the boil.  The smells at the boil are out of this world!  Did you know it takes 40 gallons of syrup to make one gallon of syrup? To put that in perspective, that’s as much liquid as fills an average bathtub, boiled down to the equivalent of a carton of milk.  
Did you also know the average sugar maple tree produces anywhere from 5 to 15 gallons of sap, which means the sap from 2.5 trees needs to be combined to make a single gallon of syrup?!  

The day also included a prayer bead craft.  The participants and facilitators had lots of fun despite the weather.  It’s pretty hard to not have fun at this beautiful site full of awesome people, right? 
Make sure you check out the calendar and make plans to celebrate Maple Sugaring next year!

Tentative dates for 2023 Maple Sugaring:
March 17-19 - Overnight Retreat for 6-8th grades
March 18 - Intergenerational Day for all ages


“I always feel at home where the sugar maple grows.... glorious in autumn, a fountain of coolness in summer, sugar in its veins, gold in its foliage, warmth in its fibers, and health in it the year round.” -- John Burroughs

Written by Dan Krhla
Silver Lake Board Member