Camp Cullom’s annual Maple Syrup Festival brought the sights, sounds, and smells of spring to life this weekend as families from North-Central Indiana gathered northwest of Frankfort to see how clear tree sap becomes dark maple syrup. The event, sponsored by the Camp Cullom Board of Directors and Atchley Farms, combined hands‑on education with a hearty pancake breakfast and time on the trails and grounds of the 79‑year‑old youth camp.
Inside the camp lodge, volunteers served an all‑you‑can‑eat pancake breakfast featuring syrup produced on site by Atchley Farms from the sap of 103 Camp Cullom Maple trees. Atchley Farms is a family operation based near Mulberry that has partnered with Camp Cullom for several seasons. Many guests timed their meal around a visit to the nearby “sugar shack,” where Atchley crew members explained how sap collected from trees across the property is boiled for hours to concentrate the natural sugars. It can take 40 to 50 gallons of sap to make a single gallon of finished syrup, a fact that surprised many first‑time visitors watching the steaming evaporator pans.
This year’s festival again showcased Camp Cullom’s dual role as both a community gathering place and an outdoor classroom. Between trips to the breakfast line and the maple syrup demonstration, visitors explored the camp’s network of hiking trails, stopped by the Nature Center, and enjoyed the Camp that serves thousands of youth and families each year. For younger guests, seeing sap buckets and tubing systems along the trails turned a simple hike into a live lesson in tree biology and Indiana’s late‑winter weather patterns.
Event organizers noted that the Maple Syrup Festival operates on a free‑will offering basis, with proceeds supporting Camp Cullom’s mission of promoting the physical, mental, and moral development of Clinton County and area youth. Atchley Farms also offered bottled syrup for sale, giving guests a chance to take home a taste of the weekend while supporting a local producer known for sustainable, small‑farm practices. As steam rose from the evaporator and the lodge buzzed with conversation, the festival underscored how a simple seasonal ritual—turning sap into syrup—continues to draw the community together each March.
The Camp Cullom board is thankful for the participation of Scouts from Delphi and Mulberry, CRASH students and friends and relatives of the Camp Cullom board members. Camp Cullom is supported in part by the United Way for Clinton County.
The festival attracted over 500 people and grossed about $4,500.
