Learn the Sweet History of The Dawes Arboretum at Maple Syrup Day

The post-holiday lull is here, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t sweet events to put on your calendar during the frozen season, including The Dawes Arboretum’s 60th annual Maple Syrup Day on Feb. 22. The celebration serves as a nod to arboretum’s founders, Beman and Bertie Dawes, who began harvesting sap for maple sugar on their Licking County property in 1919.

“This year’s event will feature even more science and history, all shared by educators that believe in our mission of trees, nature and history,” Leslie Wagner, historian at The Dawes Arboretum, said in a Jan. 6, 2026, press release.

How Beman Dawes’ staff produced syrup in the 1920s and the science of why the arboretum does not currently tap its sugar maples are just a couple of the new additions for this year’s event, Wagner said in the release. Other offerings planned for Maple Syrup Day, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. and is included with regular arboretum admission, caters to nature lovers, history buffs and foodies interested in maple-sugaring history. 

Guided walks along the Maple Syrup Trail allow visitors to learn from educators about the variety of ways Dawes has produced syrup over the years, while costumed interpreters show what maple sugaring was like at the arboretum during the 1920s and 1970s. Hands-on, tree-tapping demonstrations provide a way to experience this time-honored tradition.

Those who want to a taste of that maple-sugaring heritage can head to the arboretum’s log cabin to try maple and hickory syrups or purchase a waffle on a stick from the Sips & Sticks Co. food truck that will be on-site for the event.

7770 Jacksontown Rd., Newark 43056, 740/323-2355, dawesarb.org

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