HARDWICK – Vermont Maple Open House Weekend is an opportunity to visit sugarhouses across the state where visitors can learn how maple syrup and other maple products are produced, while tasting samples and buying products to take home.
VMSMA courtesy photo
The 2026 weekend is coming up, Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22.
Events are free and open to the public.
“Maple Open House Weekend is Vermont’s sweetest celebration of the season. Over 90 sugarhouses and maple-loving businesses across Vermont invite you to learn, taste and explore all the ways to enjoy Vermont Maple,” said The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association (VMSMA), that organizes the weekend each year.
“From pancake breakfasts and maple donuts to live music, craft cocktails, tours, samples and more, you’ll be savoring sticky-goodness from sunup to sundown. Come out for a weekend packed with tradition, flavor, and fun.”
Several Hardwick sugarmakers join the weekend, with Shawn Messier, a second-generation sugarmaker, serving as the VMSMA Caledonia County Director.
He began sugaring in the Hardwick area with his father in 1972. In 2019, the family poured a new foundation for their sugar house, and in 2020, they expanded the production house while also preserving much of the original beams and woodwork from the first building (ask him for stories about that when you visit).
Messier now has a heated space for reverse osmosis and a brand new roof. Sugaring has always been a family project for the Messiers and they welcome visitors.
VMSMA courtesy photo
For Mary Jane and Mario of Fradette’s Maple Syrup in East Hardwick, sugaring is more than a livelihood, it’s a way of life woven through generations of family, memory, and maple. From Mario’s childhood days helping his father rebuild the sugarhouse in the 1960s, to the family’s current operation nestled beside the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, their sugarbush tells a story of deep roots and hard work. As they plan for the next generation to take over, one thing is clear: for the Fradette family, the sweetest part of sugaring has always been doing it together.
Formed in 1893, VMSMA is one of the oldest agricultural organizations in the United States. The association is made up of Vermont maple sugar makers, maple packers, equipment manufacturers and other industry leaders who are dedicated to producing the high quality maple syrup.
In the coming weeks area open houses will be listed on the VMSMA map at vermontmaple.org/visit/maple–open–house–weekend
