Maple Syrup Festival News

51st Annual Maple Syrup Festival - April 24 - 26, 2009
We’ve Made 2,120 Gallons of Syrup For a New Record

We’re almost there! Everyone is very excited about this year’s Maple Syrup Festival. Everything is coming together nicely and we’re looking forward to good weather, good food and fun, and lots of friendly visitors!

We still need volunteers to help get ready! Please check the Contact Information and see what your interested in, or call our main contacts, Pete Alexender, Kathy Shepard, or Bob Courter to find out where we can use your help.

If you would like to be part of the Arts & Crafts or Commercial Sales, booth space is still available. Please download the application then return it either by e-mail or regular mail.

To participate in the Maple Syrup Festival Parade please download and fill out the application then return it either by e-mail or regular mail.

If you’ve visited the site before you’ll probably notice we’ve updated the entire site to help visitors have a more enjoyable experience. We have added a search bar in the top right column for your convenience well as a Frequently Asked Questions page for information regarding many of the most popular questions we’re asked. If you still have questions, comments, or suggestions please leave us a comment.

In the very near future we will be adding more images to our Photo Gallery slide show with pictures from some of our past festivals. For your convenience we are building a page featuring our local businesses and churches with their locations and the services you will find.

We have lots of events planned for this year and are looking forward to everyone coming to visit. We will continue to post updates in this section and you will find all the lastest posts in the Recent Posts section.

We look forward to seeing everyone in April!

Parade Marshal Clare & Lois Myers

          The Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival
committee is very proud to announce the selection of Clare and Lois Myers as Parade Marshals of the 51st Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival and will be honored during the parade beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 26.  Clare is the grandson of Irvin Myers who settled in Shepherd in 1892.  
Schools and were married in 1963.  Except for living on Houghton Lake in Prudenville for 13 years, they have lived in the Shepherd area for many years, first on Federal Road, then Millbrook Road, and now on South Shepherd Road.  The Myers’ family consists of daughter, Jill & Dennis Lauer, Derek & Laura; son, Brian and Joyce Myers, Jim Childs & Connor; and son, Brent and Lisa Myers, Taylor & Jordan.

          They have been involved in many aspects of the festival; such as, parking trailers, tapping trees, carrying sap, and helping finish the product while carrying pancakes, waiting tables, and greeting people were jobs enjoyed by their kids and grandkids.  Being active members of the “coffee making department” has been the longest lasting job for Clare and Lois, starting in Wendall Wilk’s science classroom many years ago and even when they lived on Houghton Lake, they continued to come back to make coffee, see and visit with old friends, and make new ones.

          Clare and Lois say, “It is an honor to have been nominated and chosen to be the Parade Marshals of the 51st Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival parade, and we thank you for the privilege of being your Parade Marshals this year.”

Queens contest

Queens Float in Parade

Queens Float in the 2008 Maple Syrup Festival Parade

The Queens contest was held on March 15th 2009 in the Shepherd High School.

Thanks to everyone who came to see what the girls go through to become our Maple  Syrup Festival Queen. 

The winner of the contest was chosen by a panel of judges.

The contestants were judged on the following criteria:
Informal Question and Answer Competition, The Evening Gown Competition, and Entertainment.

The 2008 Maple Syrup Queen, Miss Rochelle Foote was on hand to give insight to her year as Queen and pass the crown to this year’s Queen.

The Maple Syrup Festival Queen for 2009 is Becca Wiles.

Congratulations to Becca and all the other contestants!