The 63rd Highland County Maple Festival

It’s Virginia’s sweetest event of the year! Nestled in the peaceful, rural mountains on the western border of the Commonwealth, travelers can take a step back in time for a cultural and culinary adventure at the county-wide Highland County Maple Festival during the second and third weekends of March.  This year marks the 63^rd event, set for March 11-12 and 18-19, 2023.

Highland County is Virginia’s least populous county but has been drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the community since 1959 to celebrate the “opening” of the trees and to observe the process of making delicious, pure maple syrup.  Free “sugar camp” tours provide a unique and educational experience for the entire family to learn how the golden delicacy is made from tree to bottle, ranging from traditional to modern techniques.  Local sugar camps have even expanded to include syrups infused with fruits and spices or even aged in spirit barrels.  Other tree syrups can be found at the festival as well, including hickory, birch, and black walnut.  Ten local sugar camps will be open on Saturdays and eight on Sundays this year.

Local civic clubs and organizations will be bringing back their delicious food offerings, including those famous fresh maple doughnuts, pancake and buckwheat cake meals with sausage and gravy, trout sandwiches, pork rinds, funnel cakes, and just about anything maple-flavored!  More food vendors on North Water Street and Main Street in Monterey have been added in 2023 to offer expanded options for savory and sweet meals for visitors.

Over 100 juried arts & crafts vendors will be available in Monterey and McDowell, providing one-of-a-kind treasures, tasty treats, and special gifts.  Browse and shop with new and returning vendors for a seemingly endless variety of handcrafted items, from old-time trades to exclusive artwork to exquisite jewelry.  A new Highland County Artisans’ Shop will be set up at The Highland Center in Monterey to showcase local crafts for sale as well.  Admission to access vendors at the Highland County Public School Gyms and The Highland Center is $5 purchased onsite (children 12 and under are free), and payment comes with a collectible maple leaf keychain that also provides access to 10 am and 2 pm entertainment at The Highland Center.

Each day of the festival this year will feature at least two live shows at The Highland Center.  On Saturday, March 11^th, enjoy the popular bluegrass band Southern Rail Express at 10 am and 2 pm, as well as the classical banjo of The John Bullard Trio at 5 pm.  On Sunday, March 12^th, listen to local favorites Mountain Air play their blend of acoustic Americana at 10 am and 2 pm.  During the following weekend on Saturday, March 18^th, put on your dancing shoes with square dancing at 10 am with local callers Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe, and stay for the 2 pm square dance when old time music band Mudhole Control brings more heel stomping fun.  Finish up the festival with two clogging performances on Sunday, March 19^th, with the Hi-Horse Cloggers performing at 10 am and the homegrown Little Switzerland Cloggers entertaining audiences at 2 pm.  All entertainment at The Highland Center is brought to you with the assistance and sponsorship of the Highland County Arts Council.  For more entertainment options, visitors of all ages can listen to bluegrass music at Southernmost Maple in Bolar starting at noon on Saturdays, or those 21 and up can groove to the acoustic blues of Delta Junction at Hull’s Hideaway Restaurant & Tavern in Monterey starting at 8 pm on Saturday, March 11^th.

While traveling the beautiful scenic roads of the rural mountain community, visitors will discover many other additional activities, such as exploring exhibits on the community’s history at the Highland County Museum in McDowell, enjoying award-winning cider at Big Fish Cider, Co. in Monterey, viewing additional vendors at The Church at the Old Oak in Meadowdale, browsing an old general store like the newly-revitalized Doe Hill Mercantile, eating at a local restaurant, or taking in the thrilling sights of a Valley Aerospace Team Model Rocket Launch south of Monterey on Saturday, March 11^th.

In 1999, the Library of Congress designated The Highland County Maple Festival a “Local Legacy,” and in 2014, the Governor of Virginia signed a bill into law designating the festival as the “official maple festival of Virginia.”  More recently, the festival has earned several user-voted awards, including the winner of Best Unique Festival in the Best of the Blue Ridge 2023 Reader’s Choice Awards from Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine and 2022’s first-place place winner for best Festival of the Shenandoah Valley Region in the eleventh annual Best of Virginia issue from Virginia Living.  An economic impact study in 2022 conducted by Virginia Tech with assistance from Future Generations University revealed that the festival generated between $1.36 and $2.02 million in direct spending in Highland County.

The Highland County Maple Festival is coordinated by the Highland County Chamber of Commerce and made possible with the help of countless volunteers and organizations.  Top sponsors include The Springs Nursing & Rehab with Kissito Healthcare, the Monterey Inn, Summit Community Bank, The Highland Center, and WDBJ7.

Traditional hours of the festival include Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm and Sundays from 9 am to 4 pm, though visitors can get a jumpstart to the day with maple doughnuts being served at 6 am and pancake meals starting as early as 7 am.  Full details on all the festival happenings can be found at highlandcounty.org/maple-festival, with posts highlighting the festival available at facebook.com/HighlandCounty and nstagram.com/highland_county_va.

Virginia is for Maple Syrup Lovers!