The Big E

[maplwrks]

Any of you traders working in your state buildings at the Big E?? 802 Maple and I are going to be in the VT building all of next week, Stop by and see us!!!

[Clan Delaney]

I'll be working the Mass Maple booth for the first time this year. Sunday the 20th and Saturday the 26th.

[Farmboy]

I'm going to the big E but not for maple syrup. I will be going to show my dairy goats and I am going to be in the parade one day for my 4-H club.

[802maple]

Stop into the Vermont building and look up Mike and me. We are all loaded up this morning and headed out the door for Massachussetts in about 15 minutes for next 3 weeks. We will be making approx. 4 ton of candy and cream over the period, you ready Mikey?

See you down there.

[Farmboy]

That's alot of candy when I'm there I'll try to get over there and meet you guys.

[KenWP]

Sounds fun to me. You need to post pictures of the goats also.

[Clan Delaney]

Stop into the Vermont building and look up Mike and me. We are all loaded up this morning and headed out the door for Massachussetts in about 15 minutes for next 3 weeks. We will be making approx. 4 ton of candy and cream over the period, you ready Mikey?

See you down there.

Do you guys commute for those three weeks, or stay at a hotel, or with friends or family?

[maplwrks]

While there, we work for the state association---The association takes care of our rooms. This is one of the largest fund raisers that the association does, so it is important to us to be able to attract enough folks to run the booth. Picking up the tab on the rooms helps get these people there.

[802maple]

Just finished the second day of making cream and candy, we are at 2500 lbs so far and are just able to keep up. When you get here Mike we will probably have to run 2 machines. Everybody keep making the golden sweet stuff as nobody is blinking an eye at $55 a gallon. Great weather so far and the Massachussetts and Connecticutt people have money to burn so far, and we are more than glad to take it back north with us. HaHa

[vermaple]

Work at home is on hold as of now. Off to the Big E to shore up the troops at the Vermont Building for the weekend.

[802maple]

We had a record year, just under 4 ton of candy and cream, 2800 lbs of cotton candy, somewhere near 850 gallons of syrup,plus all other products. I don't know how the other state associations did, but they seemed busy as well. It all adds up to a great year of promotion for all of us.

We are back home and will rest up for another year.

[Farmboy]

That's a lot of maple! I was there 6 of the 17 days mostly showing goats. I walked though the Vermont building Saturday who was in there then? It gets boring after a while.

[802maple]

I was there until about 3 in the afternoon and I don't think there were any other traders. Although there were 13 other souls so i am not sure.

[Clan Delaney]

I worked the Mass Maple Assoc. booth on two separate days. I wished I'd have signed up for more. Next year, I definitely will. The last Saturday I was there, there wasn't a 60 second interval that I wasn't taking money from someone for something. Those maple cream cones were HUGE! Unbelievable! And the cotton candy! It was like an endless feedback loop: once you started making it, everyone wanted it, and you had to make more! I'm an efficiency freak at heart, and I'm now busting with ideas on how we can do the job better next year. I can't wait.

[802maple]

I wanted to come over to see you on the 20th but it got insanely busy and couldn't get there and I wasn't around on the 27th. Maybe the next time.

Now this is over on to the next thing and getting my other hip replaced next Monday. The timing is bad with speed beef hunting coming up but I got to be ready for the spring rush.

[KenWP]

What pray tell is speed beef.

[802maple]

Down in this little corner of Vermont, it is the famous whitetail.

[Jim Brown]

In NW Pa it is the same!