{"id":4041,"date":"2025-02-14T09:09:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T13:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/?p=4041"},"modified":"2025-11-14T16:05:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:05:01","slug":"the-sugar-festival-celebrating-40-years-of-tradition-in-vanier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/the-sugar-festival-celebrating-40-years-of-tradition-in-vanier\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sugar Festival: Celebrating 40 Years of Tradition in Vanier!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>OTTAWA, March 4, 2025<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/\">Vanier Museopark<\/a>\u00a0is excited to announce that\u00a0<strong>the\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/sugar-festival\/\"><strong>40th edition of the Sugar Festival<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0will take place from March 24 to 30, 2025, at Richelieu Park\u00a0<\/strong>(300 des P\u00e8res-Blancs Ave.) in Ottawa. This flagship event of the Museopark\u2019s programming, which attracts thousands of visitors each year, proudly celebrates the traditions of maple season and highlights the traditional maple syrup production at the only urban sugar shack in Canada. The 40th Vanier Sugar Festival is presented by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coop.desjardins.com\/ca\/your-credit-union\/ontario\/index.jsp\">Desjardins Ontario Credit Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>An Historic Edition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was in March 1985 that Gis\u00e8le Lalonde, Mayor of Vanier, inaugurated the first Sugar Festival in the neighbourhood. \u201cThis is a special year for us,\u201d says Madeleine Meilleur, Executive Director of the Vanier Museopark. \u201cWe are honoured to carry on this tradition that has brought the community together for four decades. The Sugar Festival is part of the soul of Vanier, and I have cherished memories of it. I remember the horse-drawn carriage rides, the children\u2019s laughter, and the warm interactions with volunteers and festival-goers. When I was a city councillor, I loved meeting people, exchanging with them, and feeling that unique energy that makes the Festival such a special moment for our community. This 40th edition promises once again to rekindle these beautiful memories and create new ones!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Festive, Delicious, and Musical Program for All<\/strong><br \/>\nAlthough there won\u2019t be horse-drawn carriage rides at the Festival this year, the Museopark is still organizing a major event for this anniversary edition, with sweet discoveries. Here is an overview of the main activities:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Monday, March 24, 2025: The\u00a0<\/strong>18th edition of Soup(e) Splash, a gastronomic fundraising event for the Festival, where 6 restaurants from Vanier and Ottawa compete to create the best soup, which must include maple syrup.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tickets are on sale now on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/sugar-festival\/\">Vanier Museopark\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0($60 per person)<\/li>\n<li>The participating restaurants this year are:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/p\/Aninas-Cafe-61556658314247\/\">Anina\u2019s Caf\u00e9<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.danterestaurant.ca\/\">Dante<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvees.com\/\">Dhruvees<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/edinburger.ca\/\">Edinburger<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/schoolhousepizza.ca\/\">Schoolhouse Pizza<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.playfood.ca\/\">Play food &amp; wine<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lestlaurent.ca\/en\/\">Le St-Laurent<\/a><\/li>\n<li>The jury is composed of:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>St\u00e9phanie Plante<\/strong>, Municipal Councilor for Rideau-Vanier<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mathilde Hountch\u00e9gnon<\/strong>, Host, producer and founder of 36 Mille<\/li>\n<li><strong>Janik Quintal<\/strong>, Director of Culinary Operations, Chartwells\/University of Ottawa<\/li>\n<li><strong>Robert Grandma\u00eetre<\/strong>, Member of the Board of Directors, Vanier Museopark<\/li>\n<li><strong>Michel Picard<\/strong>, host, 94,5 Unique FM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Wednesday, March 26 and Thursday, March 27, 2025:\u00a0<\/strong>School Days, where more than 1,200 children will explore the world of maple syrup through a series of interactive stations and an original, never-before-seen musical performance, created for the Festival (<em>SOLD OUT<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday, March 28, 2025:\u00a0<\/strong>Country Night at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lecpc.ca\/\">Centre Pauline-Charron<\/a>. A dinner &amp; show featuring\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.martinduford.com\/\">Martin Duford<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sugarcrush.ca\/accueil\">Sugar Crush<\/a>, presented by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecolecatholique.ca\/fr\/\">Conseil des \u00e9coles catholiques du Centre-Est<\/a>\u00a0(CECCE)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tickets are available for purchase on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/sugar-festival\/\">Vanier Museopark\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0($35 per person).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30, 2025<\/strong>: Family and Community Days featuring a wide range of free activities for all ages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maple syrup meals and taffy:\n<ul>\n<li>Meal (pancakes, sausages and scrambled eggs): $15 adult \/ $8 child<\/li>\n<li>Taffy: $3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Free coffee and hot chocolate provided by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.starbucks.ca\/fr-CA\">Starbucks<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Beers from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/orleansbrewing.com\/\">Orl\u00e9ans Brewing Co.<\/a>, including their famous maple beer, the official beer of the Sugar Festival<\/li>\n<li>Free concerts by local artists, including an additional performance of Qattuu and Mimi O\u2019Bonsawin\u2019s original show presented during the school day on Saturday morning<\/li>\n<li>Giant paint-by-numbers collective art project presented by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deserres.ca\/\">DeSerres<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pebeo.com\/\">P\u00e9b\u00e9o<\/a>\u00a0and visual artist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maxkblack.com\/cv\">Max Black<\/a>. Festival-goers of all ages will be invited to paint the canvases and leave a trace of their visit to the Sugar Festival. This activity is free, thanks to the generous support of P\u00e9b\u00e9o.<\/li>\n<li>Axe throwing with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lumberjaxe.ca\/\">LumberJaxe<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Indigenous artifacts experience with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.makatew.ca\/\">Makatew Workshops<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Petting zoo and pony rides from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/countrysidepettingfarm\/\">Countryside Petting Farm<\/a>\u00a0($)<\/li>\n<li>Inflatable games and an indoor play area for toddlers, presented by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/fr\/page\/trouver-un-centre-pour-lenfant-et-la-famille-y-va\">ON y va!<\/a>and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mothersmattercentre.ca\/hippy\">HIPPY<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Special activities at the Ottawa Public Library \u2013 Vanier branch:\n<ul>\n<li>LEGO building, crafts, giant checkers and Connect4 games<\/li>\n<li>Used book sale organized by the volunteer group Les Signets de Vanier ($): Saturday, March 29 (from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday, March 30 (from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Great selection of used books for children and adults: picture albums, novels, nonfiction, recipe books\u2026 something for everyone, including CDs, DVDs and video games.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sunday, March 30, 2025 only<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A 5 km race organized by City Councillor St\u00e9phanie Plante in support of the Vanier Museopark. Tickets go on sale on March 10.<\/li>\n<li>Amateur Lumberjack skills competition at 1:00 PM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NEW<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Live broadcast from the Sugar Festival of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uniquefm.ca\/emission-week-ends-uniques\"><em>Les Week-ends uniques<\/em><\/a>on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uniquefm.ca\/\">94,5 Unique FM<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Urban sugar shack stilts performers Miss Maple and Simone la b\u00fbcheronne (Simone the lumberjack) from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/diffusionfar.com\/\">Diffusion FAR<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Wood-fired pizza food truck from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fermethuya.ca\/\">La Ferme Thuya<\/a>\u00a0($)<\/li>\n<li>Various community booths (<a href=\"https:\/\/montreal.lufa.com\/fr\/#\/\">Ferme Lufa<\/a>, ACFO Ottawa,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanier-association.com\/en\/\">Vanier Community Association<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.riverstoneretirement.ca\/?&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;utm_term=\">Riverstone Retirement Communities<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecolecatholique.ca\/fr\/\">Conseils des \u00e9coles catholiques du Centre-Est<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cepeo.on.ca\/\">Conseil des \u00e9coles publiques de l\u2019Est de l\u2019Ontario<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Vibrant\u2026 and Free! Musical Stage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For a third consecutive year, the Vanier Museopark has entrusted the musical programming of the Festival to the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC). \u201cWe are proud to once again partner with the Vanier Museopark to celebrate the musical richness of our region on the occasion of the 40th edition of the Sugar Festival,\u201d says M\u00e9lanie Br\u00fbl\u00e9, OMIC\u2019s Executive Director. \u201cThis Festival is an exceptional showcase for local talent and an invitation to explore music in all its forms. We are excited to offer festival-goers a diverse lineup that reflects the vitality and creativity of our local music scene!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Expect an outstanding program that will get everyone dancing, with performances from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hitmakerz.com\/qattuuevic\">Qattuu<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mimi.ca\/\">Mimi O\u2019Bonsawin<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kristinestpierre.com\/home\">Kristine St-Pierre<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.paulweber.ca\/\">Paul Weber<\/a>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.heywow.ca\/\">Hey, Wow<\/a>, among others. The full lineup will be revealed on the Vanier Museopark\u2019s social media in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Support the Festival\u2019s Free Admission<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once again this year, it is possible to purchase a toque featuring the Sugar Shack Festival logo. This is one of two fundraising campaigns organized by Mus\u00e9oparc Vanier to help continue offering this free community event for everyone. Festival-goers can show their love for the Festival by purchasing their toque, with or without a pompom, for $40 (taxes included) by visiting the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/sugar-festival\/\">Vanier Museopark\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Those who are able are also invited to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/interland3.donorperfect.net\/weblink\/weblink.aspx?name=E353157QE&amp;id=5\">make a donation to the Vanier Museopark<\/a>\u00a0to help keep the Festival free of charge.<\/p>\n<p>The Vanier Museopark would like to acknowledge that the organization of the 2025 Sugar Festival is made possible thanks to the generous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/sugar-festival\/\">financial contributions of its funders, partners, and sponsors<\/a>, including the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en.html\">Government of Canada<\/a>, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ottawa.ca\/en\">City of Ottawa<\/a>, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/government-ontario\">Government of Ontario<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coop.desjardins.com\/ca\/your-credit-union\/ontario\/index.jsp\">Desjardins Ontario Credit Union<\/a>, Bilingual Ottawa (via ACFO), the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arts.on.ca\/home?lang=en-ca\">Ontario Arts Council<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.riverstoneretirement.ca\/\">Riverstone Retirement Communities<\/a>, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ottawamic.com\/\">Ottawa Music Industry Coalition<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pebeo.com\/\">P\u00e9b\u00e9o<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecolecatholique.ca\/fr\/\">Conseil des \u00e9coles catholiques du Centre-Est<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Join us for this anniversary edition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Come celebrate \u2013 and indulge your sweet side \u2013 with us from March 24 to 30, 2025, at the 40th Sugar Festival, presented by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coop.desjardins.com\/ca\/your-credit-union\/ontario\/index.jsp\">Desjardins Ontario Credit Union<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Vanier Museopark<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Vanier Museopark is a non-profit organization in the heart of Vanier, a working-class neighbourhood near downtown Ottawa, which celebrates the community\u2019s rich heritage and history. Through exhibitions, talks, workshops, school programs, and interpretive tours, the Vanier Museopark helps curious people of all ages and cultures discover and learn about the habits and customs of the local Francophone community. The Vanier Museopark is Ottawa\u2019s only French-language museum and one of the few Canadian museums devoted entirely to the Francophone community outside Quebec. The Museopark operates an authentic sugar shack in the heart of an urban maple forest, the only one of its kind in Canada. It also hosts the Sugar Festival, an annual event that promotes maple syrup culture, showcases Franco-Ontarian and Indigenous artists, and is a hugely popular family activity. Proud of its roots, the Vanier Museopark has been a fixture of the community since it was founded in 2004.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.museoparc.ca\/\">www.museoparc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2013 30 \u2013<\/p>\n<p>For additional information, visuals, or to schedule an interview, please contact:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Annick\u00a0Normand<br \/>\n<\/strong>Communications and Marketing Manager, Vanier Museopark<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:communication@museoparc.ca\">communication@museoparc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OTTAWA, March 4, 2025 &#8211; The\u00a0Vanier Museopark\u00a0is excited to announce that\u00a0the\u00a040th edition of the Sugar Festival\u00a0will take place from March 24 to 30, 2025, at Richelieu Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"40 Years of the Sugar Festival | Mus\u00e9oparc Vanier","_seopress_titles_desc":"Celebrate 40 years of the Sugar Festival at the Mus\u00e9oparc Vanier in Ottawa. Join the party and experience unique and festive sugar traditions!","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"post-alt-category":[63],"class_list":["post-4041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sugar-festival","post-alt-category-press-release"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4041"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8909,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4041\/revisions\/8909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4041"},{"taxonomy":"post-alt-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoparc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-alt-category?post=4041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}