Maple Sugaring Time & Victorian Valentine Pop-up Exhibit

February is Maple Sugaring Time at the Dudley Farm Museum

Every February, weather permitting, volunteers at the Dudley Farm make their way to the maple sugaring house in the woods behind the new Quinnipiac Dawnland Museum and Munger Barn. There, the century old “cooker” is fired up, maple sap collected, and the slow process of turning gallons of maple sap into maple syrup is done the way the Dudley family did it for over 100 years.

The sugar house was rebuilt in the 1990’s on the original site, thanks to the local Rotary Club. If weather cooperates, wetap some of our trees, collect the sap that fills the metal buckets,and demonstrate how the Dudleys produced this valuable product in a traditional way. We welcome visitors to join us to learn more about how syrup was made 100 years ago. You can even help out if you’d like. Warm yourself by a wood fire, listen to a few tall tales and watch the watery sap slowly turn into liquid gold.

This year’s Maple Sugaring Demonstration is schedule for the weekends of February  14-15 and 21-22 from 10-2 Saturdays and 11-3 on Sundays. Check our web site at www.Dudleyfarm.com. The Dudley Farm Museum, 2351 Durham Rd, Guilford, CT 06437

Victorian Valentine Pop-up Exhibit

Come to the Farmhouse Museum for a Victorian Valentine pop-up exhibit. Pop-up valentines using German and Austrian paper engineering designs were especially popular from the 1890’s through the 1920’s. But valentines of the era did not always convey Cupid’s sweet side. Vinegar Valentines, aka Penny Dreadfuls or Mock Valentines, were cheeky Victorian cards sent anonymously.