Blake Ellis/Local Journalism Initiative Photos

Part One of the annual Maple Syrup Festival was held at A.W. Campbell Conservation Area near Alvinston was held on the weekend of March 18 and 19. On Saturday, Myra Spiller, a conservation education and community partnership technician with the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority led one of three tours held throughout the day going through the process of tapping a tree, collecting the sap and boiling it to produce the maple syrup. The Indigenous people and pioneers of the area perfected many of the techniques she demonstrated Cold, damp and muddy conditions may have kept many away on Saturday. It was also the first time in three years, the maple syrup festival beause of  pandemic restrictions. The Alvinston Fire Fighters Association usually holds its pancake breakfast on the same weekend, but due to a scheduling conflict, the fire fighters will be holding its pancake breakfast on the weekend of March 25 and 26. The maple syrup festival has been a tradition since the 1970s.