Travel Canada: Fun Tradition of Sugar Shack

Hi friends,

How's your Sunday so far? Mine is aca-amazing since I was just going through my picture-albums and thought I'd share this fun and awesome tradition (of many Quebecois families I know) to this month's #culturevulture - which is, partying at a sugar shack, known as cabane a sucre

Quebecois = people from Quebec, a province in Canada

cabane a sucre = sugar shack

What is it exactly?

Basically it's a fun service offered by producers/companies that produce maple syrup. It usually starts with a tour, followed with big meal, then entertainment, and would end with sampling a sweet product.

You can find these establishments in provinces throughout Canada where maple syrup is produced supposedly, but my experience was in Quebec province, so am sharing what the tradition is like in Quebec province.

The Tour

Depending on how many visitors are present at the same time, a tour would either start with a visit around the maple trees area/plantation, or it could start with a tour inside the shack(s).

At the maple trees wooded area, you can find buckets attached to the maple trees and equipment similar to water taps inserted into the trees - this is how they collect the sap from the maple trees.

Normally the producer would have several shacks/cabins on their property and at these cabins you would be able to see how they make/boil the sap and turn it into maple syrup, and/or by products of the maple syrup, such as maple candies and toffees.

The guide then would offer you a horse carriage ride around the farm/plantation. I've been to three different sugar shack productions and each of them offered a tour around the plantation, on horse carriadge, so it's safe to assume all sugar shacks-visit will have this service too.

It is quite fun to do, but don't forget that winter wind can be cruel, so dress up properly 😉 I guess I have to include that cabane a sucre usually starts in late Fall to early Spring, so yeah, cold wind.

Brunch/Lunch/Dinner Time

After touring, comes the fun part, banquet time! Stuff your tummy til you cannot move at all.

Depending what time your visit is, you can either be served with meals that are suitable for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Most of the meals served at cabane a sucre, you guessed right, obviously have maple syrup in them as one of the ingredients.

Common menu at a sugar shack, you can request certain meals to your diet obviously - let them know when you book your visit.

Most of the time people who are going to cabane a sucre, come in groups of more than 4 members per family (or friends). A group can consist of 12 people if not more, in fact the whole dining hall can be booked for a wedding, a school, any kinds of party, so I hardly met anyone who visited a sugar shack by himself/herself, not even a couple - at least a group of 4 people, the least.

This makes a total sense since dining at cabane a sucre is just like a big party, I guess coming with yourself would be awkward since dining tables provided are always long big tables that can hold a dozen per table.

Should you wanna come alone, I don't see why you cannot though, but you might get lonely? So invite your grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews 😂 You can of course kidnap your room mates, landlord, school buddies, force them to go with you 😉 I bet nobody would say no, as visiting a sugar shack followed with a nice meal is hard to say no to.

Entertainment/Au Toit Rouge

The last sugar shack I visited (with school colleagues, of more than 100 of us, if I remember well) was Au Toit Rouge - The Red Roof, and yes, obviously they do have red roof 😁

This place was humangous, just check out their dancing hall, wow.

...aaaaand yes, that's another fun part at cabane a sucre, after stuffing your face, you gotta shake those calories off, right? Let's go dancing!

Don't worry if you don't wanna dance, though, the dancing hall also has tables and chairs for you to just enjoy the dancers 😂

From all the three cabane a sucre I've been, all ended with crowd dancing together, but at Au Toit Rouge, the rooms were so massive, it was mega fun dancing with the whole school. Not to mention besides the huge dining hall and then dancing hall, at Au Toit Rouge you can also check their kitchen area (big as well), then there's souvenir area which was also a coat-hanger area, game area, bars, and outside was a petting-zoo even.

Seriously, this is one sugar shack that should be on your 'a must to visit' list. Even their parking lot was super large, Walmart can't hold a candle to them 😂

Kitchen

Boutique - souvenir plus coat hanger room

Game room, if you're not into dancing

Bar - wasn't open since at the same time we visited, another school of young children also came for the tour (they didn't stay for the meals tho)

Parking lot

Petting zoo - obviously a winner among little visitors 😉

All the entertainment facilities I mentioned above were also available at the other two sugar shacks I have visited, but my best memory was at Au Toit Rouge as they really run an awesome establishment for gathering.

Maple Toffee a.k.a Maple Taffy

Freshly made maple taffy? I'm in!

Each of the sugar shacks I went to, they had maple taffy station, set up just before you leave the establishment (although at Au Toit Rouge they have a different room especially for guests, and it's situated on the basement of their dining area, I think!).

Since I've been to three different establishments and each of them had such station, again I think this can be found in all if not at most of cabane a sucre.

At this maple taffy station, workers would make you taffy candy in exchange of a toonie ($2). It is interesting to see should you never been. It is so much fun, should you never try, in fact you can make the taffy yourself, with a little guidance from the worker(s).

Even if you don't like sweets, trying freshly made maple taffy is a great cultural thing to experience if you aren't Canadian, as the candy is made by pouring hot maple syrup on a bed of finely crushed ice or snow. Give them a try 😉

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