This weekend, Shaver’s Creek is set to host its first Maple Harvest Festival since 2019, which will feature all-you-can-eat pancakes and maple syrup.

The event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27. Attendees will be able to see every part of the maple syrup-making process, including identifying and tapping sugar maple trees to transforming sap into syrup. Perhaps most importantly, Shaver’s Creek expects to serve more than 10,000 pancakes and 20 gallons of maple syrup during the festival.

The festival grounds will host a range of folk music performers, including the Stone Valley Pickers and Stacy Tibbetts, a climbing wall, and a presentation from “The Pennsylvania Maple Queen” Rebecca Wright.

Laurie McLaughlin, a Penn State professor who oversees the festival, says she is looking forward to bringing the community together again.

“I’m excited for everyone to come together and enjoy the festival, this place, and our community,” she said in a release. “Just connecting with our own Shaver’s Creek community and all those who come back to enjoy this place. It’s the people that make it fun.”

Students taking McLaughlin’s class, RPTM 297: Interpreting Maple Sugaring to Families, will assist in the programming and lead interactive teaching areas.

The Maple Harvest Festival has been an annual event at Shaver’s Creek since 1984. The 2020 and 2021 festivals were canceled due to COVID-19, and this year’s event will accordingly be held outside for the first time ever.

Shaver’s Creek is a part of the Penn State Experimental Forest, a nearly 7,000-acre habitat restoration project that is supervised by the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. To learn more about the Maple Harvest Festival, visit Shaver’s Creek’s website.