SIU Carbondale's 2025 Maple Syrup Festival returns to Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center this weekend.
The annual event offers a pancake breakfast with real maple syrup made fresh at the facility. There will also be outdoor demonstrations, live music, a climbing wall, and a giant swing.
Brian Croft, the director of Touch of Nature, said, "We make our very own syrup on-site. And not only can people enjoy pancakes with fresh maple syrup, but they can also see for themselves part of the extensive process that takes place after we tap the maple trees and extract the sap to convert it to syrup."
Tickets for the breakfast will be available at the door of Freeberg Hall. They are eight dollars for SIU students and children between ages 4 and 10, and fifteen for attendees aged 11 and older.
The Maple Syrup Festival activities begin Saturday and Sunday, March 22-23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with breakfast served until 2 p.m.
