Earth Week Plus hosts maple syrup tour, documentary showing

Jillian Fellows, Cheboygan Daily Tribune
·1 min read
Bonz Beach Farms in Onaway has about 4,300 taps for making maple syrup.
Bonz Beach Farms in Onaway has about 4,300 taps for making maple syrup.

CHEBOYGAN COUNTY — Earth Week Plus will be hosting several upcoming events in the Cheboygan area.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, Earth Week Plus invites people to see the maple syrup operation up close at Bonz Beach Farms in Onaway.

Gary Shepherd, owner of Bonz Beach Farms, operates a tree tap system that moves sap through 2 miles of tubing into a collection pumphouse, where the sap is then pumped into a 4,200-gallon tank to begin the syrup processing.

“I started with 60 taps in the first year I made syrup,” said Shepherd in a press release. “Now we have about 4,300 taps.”

The maple syrup season typically runs from mid-February to the end of April.

Guests will watch the steps throughout the process, which can produce about 40 gallons of syrup an hour. Syrup, sugar, candy and mustard will be available for purchase.

Bonz Beach Farms is located at 20706 Bonz Beach Highway in Onaway.

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Then, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 7, Earth Week Plus will sponsor a showing of “Deep Rising” at the Cheboygan Opera House. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. and seating is first come, first served.

According to Earth Week Plus, “Deep Rising” is a feature-length documentary that explores the urgent threats posed to the ocean by global corporations and organizations who want to mine the deep seabed for materials and profit.

Both programs are free to attend.

For more information, visit earthweekplus.org.

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.  

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Earth Week Plus hosts maple syrup tour, documentary showing