At least five St. Lawrence County maple producers will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this weekend and next for Maple Weekend.

The event will take place March 19-20 and 26-27 at Fine-n-Dandy, 2620 County Route 35, Norwood; Rutley Maple Farms, 8765 State Route 11, Potsdam; Sweeter Creations, 348 Pearson Rd., Madrid, The Orebed Sugar Shack, 503 Orebed Rd., DeKalb Junction, www.orebedmaplesugarshack.com; and Woody’s Maple, 418 Underwood Rd., Hermon.

The public is invited to come at no charge to see how maple syrup and other maple products are made and see the boiling process.

Producers will have selections of syrup and other maple products for sale so visitors can take the tradition home with them.

The St. Lawrence County Maple Producers’ Association website has more information about many maple producers at . www.slcmaple.com/cat/members/

Maple producers in New York State represent all sizes of production, from the casual hobbyist to the largest commercial producers. They number over 1500, and produce more than 300,000 gallons of syrup, representing nearly 16 percent of national production.

This makes New York the second largest producing state in the US, and third in the world behind Canada and the state of Vermont. About two million of New York’s maple trees are tapped to produce the annual crop.

The sap must be boiled to concentrate the natural sugars, and it takes more than 40 gallons of maple tree sap to make just one gallon of delicious New York Maple Syrup.

For more information, contact the St. Lawrence County Maple Weekend Coordinator Lori McAdam-Jenness at 347-3415 or jefflormcjen@tds.net.