Maple Harvest Festival and Pancake Breakfast

2024 Maple Harvest FestivalMaple Harvest Festival - Celebrating 40 Years

When: March 23–24, 10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Please note that timed entry tickets are required to attend the festival and/or tour Shaver’s Creek facilities on March 23 and 24 and must be purchased online prior to the event. The event will be held rain or shine. Tickets are nonrefundable.

Tickets for this year’s festival are sold out. Thank you for your continued support of the Maple Harvest Festival!

About the Festival

We welcome you to join us to celebrate the first harvest of the new year with Shaver’s Creek! Since 1984 we have hosted our Maple Harvest Festival and Pancake Breakfast to help people learn about the maple sugaring process — both in colonial times and the present day.

At the festival you can:

  • learn how to identify and tap sugar maple trees and visit the Sugar Shack to see sap transformed into syrup
  • watch costumed interpreters demonstrate sugaring techniques used by Native Americans, pioneers, and modern-day farmers
  • enjoy live music
  • see live animal programs to learn about our resident birds, reptiles, and amphibians
  • scale the climbing wall — open from 10:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m.
  • savor all-you-can-eat pancakes and maple syrup

2024 Schedule of Events

No matter which day you attend, there’s plenty to see and hear at Shaver’s Creek during the Maple Harvest Festival.

Breakfast Menu

  • pancakes
  • real maple syrup
  • two local pork sausage patties (per person)
  • applesauce
  • beverages (juice, coffee, tea, hot chocolate)

Pancakes

Visitor Information

Refer to the Visit Shaver’s Creek page for information on parking, accessibility, groups, prohibited items, and more.

Cultural History

Instructor measuring a tree while two kids watch

Volunteering

A Note for Summer Camp Leaders-in-Training:

LITs will be emailed a volunteer link in late February and should not use the sign up on this page.

This event would not be possible without the help of volunteers, and we need some fun people to help make the weekend great. Pancakes with maple syrup will be provided, and we ask that volunteers commit to a 4-hour time slot (9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. or 12:30–4:30 p.m.) on Saturday or Sunday of the weekend. We have a multitude of volunteer positions each year, including:

Food Service Prep: If you are looking to get your daily step count in, this position is right for you! Food service prep consists of running and washing dishes, getting ingredients for pancakes, and helping to clean tables. More information will be given upon arrival.

Sausage Station: With the help of trained supervisors, this station gives you the opportunity to cook sausage for our hungry guests! If you like the smell of cooking breakfast in the morning, here’s your spot!

Green Team and Recycling Efforts: In this position, you are tasked with ensuring that leftover food and recycling is placed in the proper zero waste container. If you have a passion for going green, this job is a dream!

Parking: Safely directing traffic into and out of the center’s parking lots. If you like organization and directing people, park yourself in this position.

Note: All volunteer positions for the 2024 Maple Harvest Festival have been filled.

Earn Penn State Credit

Penn State students can earn 2-credits by helping to lead and interpret maple sugaring content at our educational stations during the festival. This is a great opportunity to engage with other students and the Shaver’s Creek community.

Learn more about earning credit through AEE 297 — Interpreting Maple Sugaring to Families.

Explore our full list of Credit Courses.