JONES, Mich. — Michiana residents are invited outside to celebrate the first signs of spring during Maple Syrup Weekend at Maple Row Sugarhouse in Cass County.

Maple Row Sugarhouse maple production began in 2011. The company started with four maple trees in the front of an old farmhouse. The following year, organizers expanded with a few hundred taps on farm properties adjacent to the Olson Farm in Cass County.

This spring operators at the farm will be processing maple sap from about 7,000 taps. A lease with Michigan State University has provided a large number of taps in Russ Forrest, which the university maintains.

The farm that houses four generations of Olsons is the site of all the maple syrup production and sales. The Sugarhouse has a Lapierre evaporator, capable of producing 100 gallons of syrup in one hour. The farm uses a reverse osmosis process to remove most of the water prior to boiling the sap, which allows for a cleaner, purer sap.

The sweet natural syrup is sold as a whole food. Other products created with the syrup include maple sugar, maple cream, maple candy and many more. The newest product at the farm is maple syrup infused with coffee beans, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks and several dried fruits.

These products work great as sweeteners, on ice cream and the fruit infused makes wonderful homemade salad dressings.

These Maple syrup products and more will be available at the annual Maple Weekend which is March 14 and 15. On Saturday, the Newberg Fire and EMS will provide an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast, from which all proceeds will benefit the volunteer Fire Department and EMS. Breakfast will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and starting at 10 a.m. we will have bus tours of the properties that are tapped.

Sunday there will be free Sugarhouse tours and sampling of the Maple Syrup. You can check MapleRowSugarhouse.com for more information, or call (269) 816-4838.