VERMONTVILLE, Mich. — The historic Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival is celebrating its 85th year, bringing the community together with maple syrup goodies, festival rides, and a drone show.
- The festival began 85 years ago to sell maple syrup and buy spring crop seeds.
- A 96-year-old lifelong resident recalls the first event where syrup sold for $1 a gallon.
- A series of events will take place Friday through Sunday including a drone show, pancake breakfast, and more
Jim Zemke has seen a festival or two in his lifetime, having lived in the area for nearly a century.
Watch: Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival brings community together for 85th year
"Well about 97 years," Zemke said.
He recalls how the first festival came together at the local barber shop when he was only 10 years old.
"They were trying to figure out some way to draw people into town and sell our maple syrup products, and that’s how it all got established," Zemke said.
The original purpose of the festival was to make money through syrup sales to buy seed for the spring crops.
"The first festival was a community get together, really, that's about what it amounted to, and it was to sell syrup at a dollar a gallon," Zemke said.
While prices have changed since syrup was $1 a gallon, the purpose and pride of the community festival remain the same.
"The syrup festival is what keeps the town alive, it supports all the functions in town from one year to the next," Zemke said.
This week, city crews and vendors have been hard at work turning Main Street into the heart of the 85-year-old tradition.
"It’s like a big family reunion really, there’s people who went to school here that come back," DPW Supervisor Chris Rumsey said.
Rumsey said the festival marks a new season where his professional life and childhood memories collide.
"I used to come to the festival when I was in 4H, doing the petting zoo, and now here I am setting up the festival every year," Rumsey said.
Co-president Mary Ann Hayes said the evolution of the festival has brought plenty more maple syrup goodies, festival rides, and even a drone show this year.
"It’s definitely a time for the community to come together, have a good time, and enjoy a little beautiful weather," Hayes said.
Zemke said the tradition has been fun to see grow, and he looks forward to this year's festivities.
"Like all little towns everyone's gotta have a little quirk to keep things going, you know, and this happens to be ours," Zemke said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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