FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEBRUARY 26, 2008

COOPERSTOWN, NY—March marks the end of winter and the beginning of The Farmers’ Museum’s annual event, Sugaring Off Sundays, a celebration of the maple-sugaring season featuring historic and contemporary sugaring demonstrations and maple-related family activities, topped with a delicious pancake breakfast. Sugaring Off will be held on March 2,9,16, 23 and 30. Breakfast will be offered from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm and maple-sugaring demonstrations from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

After enjoying a delicious pancake breakfast featuring Otsego County maple syrup, visitors can observe a variety of maple-sugaring techniques, ranging from traditional to more modern methods from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Through hands-on demonstrations, The Farmers’ Museum will present the time-honored traditions of the sugaring process through the ages. Visitors will learn about the origins of maple syrup and sugar production in the region as well as observe Native American and mid-19th century techniques. Visitors can fashion a wooden spile, try out wooden yokes for collecting sap, and indulge in “jack wax,” a treat made by pouring hot maple syrup over snow.
Throughout the day, children’s activities will take place in the Filer’s Corners Schoolhouse along with demonstrations on maple cream and candy making in the Main Barn, provided by the Otsego County Maple Producers. The museum’s beloved Empire State Carousel will be open from 10 am to 1 pm.

New at Sugaring Off Sundays this year, The Farmers’ Museum will offer an audio tour with stops related to the main activities happening around the museum. This is a cell phone tour, so you can dial into it using your own cell phone!

The Otsego County Maple Producers invite visitors to tour area sugarhouses. Visitors will see maple syrup being made, sample and buy maple products, and discover the uniqueness of each sugarhouse. For more information on a self-guided tour of area sugarhouses, please stop in at the Otsego County Maple Producers display table at Sugaring Off.

Todd’s General Store, located in the historic village, and The Farmers’ Museum Store, will be open from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm offering a selection of unique gifts, crafts, books, and mementos.

Admission to Sugaring Off is $7.00 for adults; $3.00 for children 6-12; and free for children 5 and under. The admission price includes the pancake breakfast.

This event is made possible with funding by the Otsego County Bed Tax Event Grants Program, Otsego County Tourism, 800-843-3394/visitcooperstown.com. The event is also sponsored in part by the Otsego County Maple Producers, Don Olin Realty, Paraco Gas Corp and Wal–Mart.

About The Farmers’ Museum
As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits. The museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, a late- nineteenth-century Country Fair featuring The Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

The Farmers’ Museum is located on 5775 State Hwy. 80, Lake Road, in Cooperstown, NY. Museum admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for visitors age 65 and over, and $5 for children age 7 to 12; children 6 and under and members are admitted free. From April 1 through May 14 and October 9 through October 31, admission prices are reduced to $9 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, and $4 for children age 7 to 12. Reduced price combination admission tickets that include the Fenimore Art Museum and The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also available. For museum hours or general information, please call 1-888-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org.

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For more information or images, please contact:
Christine Liggio, Public Relations
The Farmers’ Museum
Tel: (607) 547-1472
E-mail: c.liggio@nysha.org