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Sweet festival is labour of love Darren McKone, “batter boy” at the Maple Valley Syrup Festival, pours the messy mix. He’s been a volunteer for years and loves If. . Maple Sy by Lindsay Elglnhlm Flaln didn't dampen the crowd's en- thusiasm nor did muddy grounds prevent long fins-ups 'for pancakes at Purple Valley's 22nd annual Maple Syrup Festival on Saturday. Undeterrad by the morning drizzle a good turnout of about 1200 ter the mushy grounds of the Community Centre deter- mined to enjoy themselves regardless. The festival to billed as a family fun day with events Including pony rides. log sawing contests‘ turkey shoot, clog dancing, fiddle and bagplpe playing, baking and craft sale and more. Then of course there are the pancakes. If the grounds outside were mushy the condition of the kitchen at panoakecentral was a good match. Great goopy globs of pancake batter were being mixed, poured, grilled. flipped (and some inevitably spilled) by a legion of splattered volunteers fran- tically hustling to feed the damp masses outside. About 360 kg of pancake mix (that's near soc lbs. to oldtlmers and the stubborn) and 40 gallons oi that golden liquid the festival honours were served up with little left over. Organizer Wilde Gilbert was confident the day didn't fall far short of expectation because of the poor weather. She said they pretty well "know by now how much to or- der." Sylvia Masters, who also handled sales at the bake table. looks after supplies and past experience has been a good measure. “We were hoping the sun would shine." said Wilde. (In fact it did near the end.) But numbers were still up. “They maybe didn't stay as long (as previous years) but they were all here." Anyway. as usual. leftovers will be used by the Community Centre's flah try later in the year. she added. and unsold baking wll! he gobbled up at the ‘country style' dance the;l wrapped up the Festival Saturday n g t. A sampling of the fair goers showed the! lot many the Purple Valley festival is an an- nual Easter ritual. Bill Glassfcrd, supplies the syrup from his 650 tree maple bush lust north ol the village and the Idea started WW1 his ln-lsws, Lloyd and Olive Burt In 1967. “My iather-In-Iaw owned the.bulh before me. . .he and Olive1 along with the Women's Inaht’llute. got the idea to start th teatival,” ea Elli. MAX/L :17. I789. Since the beginning it has been a labour of love for countless volunteers. Edna Cook has been chief pancake flipper since way back, and Audrey Hepburn a. stalwart o‘ganlzer. Last year Audrey was the batter queen. 1 king like she was painted with the goop, t anks to a faulty mixer that decided the wlls needed plastering. This year she and elf-described "batter boy“ Darren McKone wra laughing. They had the loan of a glani cmmeraial mixer courtesy of Eleanor G then, and it actually kept the pancake mix f Its tank. "If freed us up a bit. If mixes four times as v ch as the old one," said Audrey. ther selfless trojans included Ed Elliott a if his gang at the pork sausage booth. 0 or 200 pounds, garlic and plaln. are c oked up. What do they do with the let- eusage cook AI Clark turns from the grill * points to his ample frontage. ‘They go in there," he qulpped. -nd what fair would be complete without - h of Hillside apartments In Wlarton. and Matron was Margaret Brough. he day wound up with a packed hell for ntry dancing to the muslo of the upadors. We used to go dancing every year.“ 79- : r~o|d Elda ssld earlier. "But not this .” She's lust getting over a recent as. he and Lillian. who's 80. were driving kioWlarton. It‘s the old time dancing we like. ‘ swear the schottlsche? We've had lots n ere." Draw winner .6 Purple Valley W.I. held a successful : at the Maple Syrup festival over the and. First prize winner was sandy neon of Fi.Fl. 6 Wlanon. Second was Smith of Toronto and third was May - yof Fl.R.3Wiarton. rup flows in Purple Valley Brian Maser. on horseback, watches brother Terry react after his fingers were mp- ped while feeding the horse a carrot. Otherwise, the kids really enroyed themselves of Saturday's Maple Syrup Festival in Purple Valley Z/M/fifj