A little rain, and a lot of mud, didn’t dampen spirits Saturday at the annual Spring Tonic Maple Syrup Festival.
The sun came out and Tiffin Conservation Area was its usual crowded self as families and friends enjoyed pancakes, sausages and, of course, maple syrup at the Essa Township venue.
Austin Kotsopoulos, six, wasn’t shy about his favourites.
“The pancakes, because they taste good,” he said with a full plate before him. “And the petting zoo. They have snakes and lizards this year.”
One of the snakes was a dwarf reticulated python, which Barrie girls Autumn Fox, six, and sister Ruby, eight, held for several minutes without fear.
“I love snakes, their colours,” said Autumn, who noted it was the first time she’d held a python.
Genya Kolesnikov, nine, from Ukraine, was helping hold the python at the same time the Fox sisters were in the petting zoo.
He was asked to rate the experience.
“One hundred out of 100,” he said with a big grin.
The Zoo to You show also included turtles, bull frogs, snakes other than the python (a brooks/speckled kingsnake), spiders (a Chilean rose tarantula) and a chinchilla, among others.
Hosted by the Rotary Club of Barrie, the Spring Tonic Maple Syrup Festival is a tradition that spans more than three decades.
The festival also featured horse-drawn wagon rides, bird box building, dog demonstrations, and music by Ron Watts.
The Spring Tonic Maple Syrup Festival continues Sunday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at 8195 8th Line in Essa.
More information can be found here.
