UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The sizzle of cooking pancakes, brewing of hot coffee and gathering of community members to celebrate the beginning of spring will converge upon central Pennsylvania as the Maple Harvest Festival returns to Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center on March 23 and 24.

The festival — back for the first time since 2016 after a two-year hiatus due to construction at the center — will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on March 23 and 24. In addition to learning about the process of making maple syrup and the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, the festival features live music, storytelling and live birds of prey and reptile shows.

Festivalgoers must visit the Maple Harvest Festival website to purchase tickets in advance.

Approximately 12,000 pancakes, 35 gallons of maple syrup and 20 pounds of coffee are served during the two days, according to festival director Laurie McLaughlin. Shaver’s Creek uses 60 gallons of milk, 120 pounds of butter, 80 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of cornmeal, 60 pounds of sugar, 20 pounds of baking powder and 10 pounds of salt.

Mark McLaughlin, Shaver’s Creek director, said the festival typically welcomes 2,000 visitors each year and is a unique way for Penn State students to connect with members of the community.  

“We are so excited for the return of the Maple Harvest Festival,” McLaughlin said. “It is such an exceptional way to have our students engage with our community and find yet another way to connect all of us to our natural world.”  

Penn State students taking Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management 297 — interpreting maple sugaring to families — will teach visitors how to identify and tap sugar maple trees, and demonstrate sugaring techniques used by Native Americans, pioneers and modern-day farmers.

The cultural history station is one of five interactive teaching areas, which also includes the tree identification station, tapping station, collection station and a visit to the sugar shack, all taught by Penn State students. Shaver’s Creek environmental education interns and more than 100 volunteers also help at the festival each year.

Admission to the festival, which includes the pancake breakfast, is $5 (ages 12 and older) and $3 (ages 6-11) for members and $10 and $6, respectively, for non-members. Admission for children ages 5 and younger is free. Shaver’s Creek also offers one round-trip bus accommodation each day for up to 40 people from the HUB-Robeson Center for an additional $2 per person.

Visit the Shaver’s Creek website to learn more about the festival, including admission and transportation information.