Spring Is Sprung: Visiting the Warkworth Lilac Festival

Lilac in the foreground, with people walking in the background

There’s a moment every year when you walk out the door and realize, “spring is really here!” Temperatures climb upward, buds appear on the trees, and birdsong suddenly seems louder. Nothing drives the feeling home quite like spring flowers, though—and the avid gardeners at the Warkworth Lilac Festival have found a way to turn that sensation in a weeks-long celebration along the Millennium Lilac Trail.

Experience Maple Syrup in Kawarthas Northumberland

Maple syrup candy on a tray of clean snow

To many Canadians, sap buckets and tubing slung between trees are as much a sign of spring as melting snow and birdsong. In my household last year’s supply of maple syrup has usually run dry by the time March rolls around, and we start looking forward to the next harvest. This year my wife & son & I refilled our stores at the Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival, and took in the weekend’s attractions while we were at it.