Cooperative Living March/April 2015 - 42

RURAL LIVING by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
Believe me, Highland County folks
have their formula honed to gleaming
for this and other festivals. Wellrehearsed
teams of volunteers band
together to flip flapjacks, make donuts,
help you park, take tickets, set up tents
and tables, tap and bottle that heavenly
maple syrup and, above all, make every
visitor feel welcome.
MARVELOUS
MAPLE:
A SURE CURE
FOR CABIN
FEVER
A
re you mired in dreariness? Got
cabin fever? Ready to get out
and find some fun?
I've got just the ticket: The
Highland County Maple Festival. If
you've never ventured over the mountain
and through the woods to
Monterey for the Maple Fest, then
make a plan to do that now. If you've
been before, chances are you'll want to
experience it again. And again.
Monterey, Virginia's " Little
Switzerland, " is just that, without the
watchmaking and ski slopes. Monterey,
and indeed all of Highland County, is a
remarkably friendly, hospitable place.
And you won't find lovelier scenery
anywhere.
For some reason - perhaps it's their
remote locale and the absolute necessity
of community cooperation -
Highland County is able to successfully
mount festival after festival, throughout
the year, for years on end.
The Maple Festival is a great example:
This will be the event's 57th year.
40
That alone is a monumental task. I
think an estimated 10,000 visitors
descend on the charming town each
day of the two-weekend festival. It's
always held the second and third weekends
in March; this year, it's March 1415,
and March 21-22. One must jostle a
happy throng jamming the sidewalks of
town, vying for tasty treats and cute
souvenirs. Don't know why, but there's
not a grumpy person in the group.
There's so very much to see and do and
hear and buy and eat.
Ah, yes. The food is
what I love most about
the Maple Festival.
Pancakes - with
buckwheat if you prefer
- are piled onto
plates with local
sausage and endless
pitchers of maple
syrup at several strategic
spots. You'll find
them in McDowell,
at the eastern end of
the county; in
Williamsville, out
yonder south of
McDowell; at the Blue
Grass Ruritan Club on
the northern end; Bolar Ruritan Club
on the southern end; and right in the
heart of things - in the school cafeteria,
where the vast gym and school
halls are filled with exhibitors.
That takes care of breakfast, or as I
call it, Highland County Brunch. But
save room, and lots of it. One thing
Monterey is known for, although not as
well as maple products, is its Allegheny
Mountain trout. You'll find trout dinners,
maple-glazed chicken dinners,
ham dinners, grilled pork tenderloin,
lamb kebabs, vegetarian dinners - the
choices abound. Now you know why
the festival runs both days of two
weekends. There is a full list of fabulous
foods available, and how to find them,
at the Highland County Chamber of
Commerce site, www.highlandcounty.
org. Just click on the Maple Festival and
you'll find everything you hoped to
know, and more.
But back to the food. I was never
Don't know
why, but
there's not a
grumpy
person in
the group.
much on pork rinds until someone gave
me one from her bag at the Maple
Festival. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so
good! I begged for more, but she was
being rather stingy; I happily bought
my own giant bag of still-warm, terribly
bad for you but terribly tasty, pork
rinds. Share yours with a stranger, or
several strangers. Make new friends!
By all means, however, you absolutely
must save room for a maple donut,
or even a dozen maple donuts. These
hot-out-of-the-fryer treats are sticky
with real maple glaze. They are one of
the best things I've ever tasted.
Be prepared for a long
line at the donut outlets.
A very long line. One
wintry March day, my
mother and I waited in
an impossibly long line
for more than an hour.
Smiling folks walked
out the door carrying
towers of boxes of
dozens of maple donuts.
We didn't mind waiting,
not one bit.
When we finally
reached the counter, the
donut lady asked us,
" How many? "
" Two, " we said, salivating.
" Two dozen? "
" No. Just two. "
" Well my lands, " the lady said. " If
you only wanted two, you should have
just come to that little window over
yonder. "
Oh. Mom and I laughed at ourselves,
and gazed at the heap of donuts boiling
in the fryer. We made our decision.
" Uh, we'll take four. "
They were gone before we reached
the car. 
To order Margo Oxendine's A Party of One,
email recorder@htcnet.org, or call 540-4682147
Monday-Thursday from 9-5.
Cooperative Living/March-April 2015
http://www.highlandcounty
Cooperative Living March/April 2015

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