Troy's Endless Mountains Maple Festival brings in hundreds
TROY PA, (WENY) -- Alparon Park was full of visitors this weekend for the annual Endless Mountains Maple Festival. Dating back to the 1980's, the festival has rich history.
The weekend was filled with rides, vendors, food, and even a demolition derby. Organizers say its come a long way since the tradition first started.
"42 years ago, some of the local maple product growers got together and decided to do a festival. In the beginning it was just a little restaurant, and it was probably 5 or 8 vendors, and today, 42 years later, we have rides, over 100 vendors, and the original maple product people that started this, they're still here. We're into second and third generation [maple makers]," said Rodney Manning, Alparon Park Administrator.
Alan Roloson is one of those second generation maple product makers. He says his father was a founding member of the festival, and he enjoys coming back year after year, and teaching people about the art of making maple products.
"[It's] just the tradition of it, number one and two, it's an art that lots of people still don't really understand. We bring our evaporator here and still show it, as we did from the beginning. We actually fire it up and show it. There's no sap at this time because it's after season, but we continue to show that process of it," said Roloson, a vendor from Roloson Brothers Maple Syrup.
Both could agree that Maple Festival holds a special place in the Troy community.
"Its not just the food, its not just the product, its about relationships, its about meeting people and just enjoying everything that's going on," added Manning.
Endless Mountains Maple Festival will return for the 2025 season.