25th Annual

Maple Syrup Festival

Purchase tickets now!
Saturday, March 6 & Sunday, March 7
7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

NEW : Express line for advance ticket holders!

Help us commemorate our 25th year by entering the pancake contest. See if you stack up to the challenge as you attempt to consume 25 pancakes. Entry fee is an additional $6. Those meeting the challenge will have their name on our website and will recieve five complimentary entries in the raffle drawings!

Guests are invited to park at Cedar Heights Elementary School and ride the shuttle to Hartman Reserve Nature Center. Shuttle service is provided by Western Home Communities.

Catch your pancakes in the air with the famous flapjack flipping talents of Chris Cakes, as recently featured on Food Network! The first weekend of March is the time to come and get a taste of spring – real maple syrup, of course. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7. The pancakes will keep stacking and syrup bottles will be flowing until 1:00 p.m. each day. Be sure to buy some raffle tickets for your chance to win great prizes, including UNI apparel courtesy of Xpressions, a bike package courtesy of Bike Tech or a kayak package courtesy of CrawDaddy Outdoors.  

As always, Maple Syrup Festival promises to fill you up with all-you-can-eat pancakes topped with maple syrup. Breakfast also includes sausage, coffee and milk. All dairy products will be supplied by Hansen's Farm Fresh Dairy. The event also features archeology expertise in the Buckles Program Center, souvenirs at the Acorn Gift Shop, and sweet pleasures in our maple bake sale.

Don’t miss live maple syrup processing demonstrations in our very own Sugar Shack. Join a syrup expert in collecting sap from a maple tree, pouring it into the boiling pans, and through  the cooking process. Witness the change from sap to syrup as you hear an explanation of the entire process. Sample the results for yourself atop your pancakes.

Tickets for the festival are available at Hartman Reserve Nature Center in advance, priced at $6 for adults or $4 for youth (ages 3-12). Online tickets may be purchased at BrownPaperTickets. Tickets will also be sold at the door the day of the event at $7 for adults or $5 for youth (ages 3-12). Become a Friends of Hartman Reserve member at the family level or above and save $1 on each ticket.

Funds raised will be used to support our mission: “Hartman Reserve Nature Center is dedicated to understanding our environment through education, recreation and community involvement and to the stewardship of a unique natural area.”

Tickets go on sale February 15 and will be available at Hartman Reserve's Interpretive Center or from board members of the Friends of Hartman Reserve. You may also purchase tickets over the phone by calling (319) 277-2187 or at the door during the event.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Constance at constance.hrnc@gmail.com.

MAPLE THANKS IN 2009! 

Another record breaking year translates to sweet success at Hartman Reserve’s 2009 Maple Syrup Festival. Thanks to the community's support, more than $21,000 was raised for the sake of environmental education. The secret of the success belongs to the whole of the Cedar Valley, including 1,786 people who feasted at the festival, nearly 200 volunteers who generously donated their time, Chris Cakes’ amazing flapjack flipping skills, Friends board members, the staff of Hartman Reserve, and honored event sponsors. 

All proceeds from ticket sales went directly to environmental education thanks to the generous contributions of the following Maple Syrup Festival sponsors:

John Harris was the lucky grand-prize winner of the benefit raffle at the Maple Syrup Festival. Thanks to the generous donation of a kayak, PFD and paddle by CrawDaddy Outdoors, John has the opportunity to paddle through nature in style.  

Hartman Reserve thanks everyone who helped make the Maple Syrup Festival a huge success. Plan to come and feast at next year’s Maple Syrup Festival on March 6 & 7, 2010. If you have any questions about this event or others held at Hartman Reserve, call Constance at (319) 277-2187 or send her an email at constance.hrnc@gmail.com.

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