IT TASTES SO SWEET
Maple candy big hit at Kings Landing
By MARK TAYLOR
For The Daily Gleaner

It's a made-in-New Brunswick event.

Kings Landing's sugar bush weekend is the perfect stop for those with a sweet tooth and a love for maple candy.

New Maryland resident Heidi LeBlanc says she considers the weekend one of the first signs of spring.

So on Saturday, her family made its annual trek to the historical settlement west of Fredericton for the popular event.

"We just like the environment, the maple candy-on-the-snow and the horse riding," LeBlanc said.

The sugar bush incorporated a variety of activities, including a pancake breakfast, a tour of Kings Landing and an opportunity to try maple candy-on-the-snow made by costumed Kings Landing staff.

"I like the Sugar Bush," Megan, LeBlanc's eight-year-old daughter, said. "The candy tastes good."

Daniel McCoy, a costumed Kings Landing staff member, helped introduce visitors to the maple candy.

He said the candy served as a reward for the hard work children in 19th-century New Brunswick did in the sugar bush.

"This was a treat at the end," he said.

McCoy said it's not surprising the maple candy is what brings the LeBlanc family to Sugar Bush weekend each year.


"It's one of the reasons people come up here besides the breakfast," the veteran Kings Landing staff member said. "It's to see how it's done, and it's a good experience for the children to actually see how it's made and what the children of the 1800s enjoyed."

The York Sunbury Search and Rescue put on the pancake breakfast at the Kings Landing Café and Bakery in the site's visitor reception centre.

Stephen Moore, president of the search and rescue group, said the breakfast is an important fundraiser.

"We can raise anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000," Moore said. "Our annual operating budget is about $10,000, so you can see this plays a pretty large role in our existence."

Robert Moreau, the new general manager of Kings Landing, said people can expect a new experience at the tourist attraction this year.

"What we're going to try to do at Kings Landing is enlighten the place," he said. "With more activities, more animals (and) more inter-activeness, so that visitors can have a better sense of what 19th century rural life was like."

Moreau said visitors will notice a difference.

"We'll have more costumed interpreters (and) more activities for people to do," he said. "But we're also going to try to do more as well in terms of special events, both to try to attract more of the local population to come back, but as well to attract the travelling visitors who will come to the site."

He said Kings Landing will focus on providing more of the services year-round.

The next event for Kings Landing is an Easter celebration April 15-16.

The site will be open daily for the summer season beginning June 3.