The Geauga County Maple Festival takes place in downtown Chardon and is one of Ohio’s first major festivals of the year – it’s usually the first festival in Ohio with rides. Along with a pancake breakfast, maple syrup products and foods and maple syrup displays, the festival offers arts and crafts, food trucks and plenty of entertainment, including Lumberjack competitions, live music, and various contests and competitions.
2023 DATE: April 27-30, 2023
Location: Downtown Chardon
Website: https://www.maplefestival.com
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This post documents my experience on April 25, 2015.
If you wish to read my 2010 experience, you can HERE.
Thanks to some local businesses freeing up some parking spaces…
…I had absolutely no problem parking and walking on over to the Geauga County Maple Festival.
It was fairly early as many food vendors were still setting up…
…but that was fine with festival goers, since they were eating pancakes either at Pilgrim Christian Church…
…or at the Pancakes in the Park tent brought to them by Heinens.
I should point out that, although there are many food vendors at the festival, they don’t serve anything with maple syrup…*
…even the waffles aren’t the right kind of waffles.
That’s why festival goers should either follow signs for maple-esque grub…
…or head to the Maple Stir building for a hot pour of syrup in a bowl…
…which you can stir until it hardens and become more like a candy.
Honestly, it’s a cheap maple treat to enjoy with the family.
If you were looking for some maple variation…
…there was plenty to be found at the Richards Maple booth…
…where you could find maple sauces and creams for yourself…
…and even maple snacks for your dog.
Other locations to check out were the Kiwanis cabin…
…for maple jerky, candies and cotton candy…
…and the main vendor tent…
…where you could get maple walnut fudge (Buckeye Chocolate)…
…and other great local maple products (Sugarbush Creek/Maple Valley).
Other local syrup vendors could be found either in the downtown area…
…or en route to your parked car.
Fortunately, with all this sugar, there were ways to burn it off…
…including shopping among vendors…
…checking out the Arts and Crafts Show…
…riding some of the many rides available…
…getting your fill of maple history…
…watching the lumberjack competition…
…or taking part in a competition yourself.
Just don’t eat the entries in the Maple Candy Contest.
* = after posting, it was brought to my attention that a food truck called the Hunger Squad WAS serving maple foods. It was on the outskirts of the square behind the Waffle vendor in a pic posted above.