Celebrate the Sugar Moon

Dear Friends-

The sweet sap of the maple tree has been collected and enjoyed by the people of the Hudson Valley since well before any written history of the area existed. A variety of oral legends of the Iroquois refer to Ioskeha, or Maple Sapling, the son of the mother goddess who embodies the spirit of life that comes with spring, and who made the sugar maple trees drip syrup. In this time, the sap season was ushered in by the first moon of spring, or “sugar moon,” and was celebrated with ceremony and a sugar dance.

Every year, Randolph School continues that tradition at Maple Fest, bringing our community together to share in the pleasures of collecting and boiling sap, while enjoying the fruits of our labor poured over a delicious stack of pancakes! Our parents and staff have worked hard to put together a wonderful day of food, entertainment, arts and crafts, and educational activities. The event is chockablock full of great stuff to listen to, sing along with, learn about, marvel at, create, and of course taste. It’s going to be great!

Of course Maple Fest would be impossible without the help of a tireless crew of volunteers who started this process gathered around the Randolph kitchen table months ago. Their long hours of hard work are appreciated by us all. Thank you so much!

One final note: We have a wonderful photograph at home of Beatrice and Maysie, taken at last year’s Maple Fest. Their faces are painted, and they are staring confidently into the camera… completely covered in mud. It seems impossible, given our crazy winter, but maybe (just maybe?) we can conjure up enough warm weather to produce yet another muddy Maple Fest? One can dream, right?

I look forward to seeing you all March 14th!

Be well,

Ben Niles