Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 9, 1994                   TAG: 9403090178
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IT'S THAT MAPLE TIME OF YEAR

Gail Lowry, executive director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the festival, says she expects the event to attract about 50,000 visitors to the rural community of 2,600. Highland County is the United States' southernmost point for commercial maple syrup manufacturing and, at 2,500 feet boasts the highest mean elevation of any county east of the Mississippi River. Its natural beauty alone is reason enough to make the roughly 21/2-hour trip from Roanoke. But you'll also learn a lot about how maple products come to be.

There will be ongoing self-guided tours of four maple sugar camps, each with its own distinct sugaring method. There's also an open-air museum, built like an old-time sugar house, that traces the sugaring process from when American Indians snapped off tree twigs to determine whether the sap was flowing to state-of-the-art reverse-osmosis machines.

There are all kinds of handmade arts and crafts, Lowry says, including oil and watercolor paintings, baskets, ceramics, stained glass, candles and some really beautiful antiques. The Ruritans, Lions Club and other civic organizations, Scouts, fire department and high schools offer edibles ranging from maple donuts to pancake-and-syrup breakfasts to trout or steak dinners. There are also crafts demonstrations and live bands and entertainment about every two hours on the courthouse lawn.

Festivities get under way about 7:30 a.m. and run until about 6 p.m. There's even dancing after dark at the Ruritan buildings. For information, call the chamber at 468-2550.

"Maps are available all over the place," Lowry assures. "Plus the roads are well-marked, so everything is easy to find." And lest you think that maple is only good for syrup, a free Maple Festival and Spring Tourist Guide, published by "The Highland & Bath Recorder," will be distributed at festival sites. It's overflowing with ideas for creative cooking with maple, including the gingerbread with maple frosting or mouth-watering baked ham featured here.

Want more? Sample some of the rich maple recipes from the lore-filled "Sweet Maple: Life, lore & recipes from the sugarbush" by James M. Lawrence and Rux Martin with photography by Paul O. Boisvert. ($19.95, Vermont Life/Chapters Publishing Ltd.).

The book's toast cups harken back to a custom of boiling eggs in maple syrup in a sugar evaporator; its bread is reminiscent of the rich brown Boston variety so perfect with mapley baked beans; and its salmon is the most requested recipe at a well-known Vermont inn.

Its corned beef and red cabbage would certainly give a different twist to traditional St. Patrick's Day fixings; or you might want to fix up a mess of nutty caramel corn for family snacking.

Whatever you do with maple, though, your hungry diners will think you're mighty sweet.

Recipes for:

\ BAKED EGGS IN MAPLE TOAST CUPS

MAPLE BROWN BREAD\ COBBLE HOUSE MAPLE-SEASONED SALMON WITH ROSEMARY-ORANGE GLAZE\ BRAISED CORNED-BEEF BRISKET WITH MAPLE & BOURBON\ RED CABBAGE BRAISED WITH MAPLE SYRUP\ MAPLE CREAM CHEESECAKE\ MAPLE CARAMEL POPCORN & NUTS\ SMOKED HAM BAKED IN MAPLE SYRUP\ MAPLE GINGERBREAD

MAPLE FROSTING