Paris Lions Club will be hosting its 13th annual Maple Syrup Festival at the Paris Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
While the event has been held on the streets of downtown Paris since its inception, last year the Lions Club decided to relocate its signature event to the fairgrounds as Grand River Street North was undergoing major reconstruction.
Rod Laframboise, a Lions Club member and past president, said that while it’s certainly a change for himself and the team, they’ve chosen to adapt and change the location rather than cancel the event all together.
“It was moved to the fairgrounds last year because of the big Downtown Dig, and with it continuing this year, we’ll be back up at the fairgrounds again,” he said. “Last year proved to be very successful though and we were able to fit all the vendors indoors, which was great. We’ve actually had some of our vendors coming to the Paris Maple Syrup festival right from the beginning, and with the popularity of the event growing, they want to keep coming back, and as the festival grows, it’s attracting new vendors now too.’
The 2026 Maple Syrup Festival will feature around 75 vendors across two exhibit halls, offering visitors a wide variety of maple syrup treats, artisan goods and homemade crafts.
Laframboise said that attendees will be able to find all the food and entertainment outside.
“The Paris Lions Club will be serving up breakfast with sausages from Strodes and our famous pancakes. Now, not everyone may want pancakes, or perhaps if they had some in the morning and they’re looking for something different in the afternoon, there will also be a variety of other food vendors as well. Some of them will be serving burritos, burgers, pogos, grilled cheese, ice cream–those sorts of things,” said Laframboise. “We’ll also have our stage set up outside with a full lineup of entertainment throughout the day, starting at 8 a.m. Joan Minnery will be there with the Voices of SiNG iT and the STOMPtastic line dancing group. Then in the afternoon we’ve got performances by Danielle Beaudin and the Thompson Road Band. Doug ‘The Great’ Hunt, and a few performers from the Glass Slipper Company will also be there, so that will be good for the kids.”
He added that funds from the pancake breakfast, as well as sponsorship opportunities all go towards supporting the Lions Club and ultimately, the community.
“It’s a free event, there is no admission fee. The only thing people will spend money on is what they purchase from the vendors. For the most part though, you can get a fabulous pancake breakfast for a very reasonable price and all the proceeds that the Lions get from that go back into the community. That’s what all of our funds are used for, things like local community projects,” said Laframboise. “Our sponsorships are a big part of the reason we can do this sort of event too. We have a lot of local businesses who sponsor the festival and that helps to offset some of the costs for the venue and the entertainment and those sorts of things. Strodes donates all the sausages, and the Tim Hortons in town provides us with hot chocolate and coffee, so that really helps us to give back to the community.”
Laframboise estimates there could get anywhere up to 5,000 visitors attending this year’s Maple Syrup Festival.
“We’re planning for the biggest crowd ever because it just keeps growing,” he said. “To give you an idea, we’re hoping to be able to serve 1,800 pancakes and 2,500 sausages this year because every year it brings in, not only the local residents, but from people out of town too.”
The past president added that he and the rest of the Lions Club are looking forward to the big event, especially because this year they’re celebrating 95 years of service.
“We just think it’s a great way to kick off spring. Usually the weather starts to get nice at the beginning of April, people are getting out and about and it’s just a great way to celebrate the community,” he said. “This is really our signature event of the year, so it’s all hands on deck and so we’re very fortunate to have some Friends of Lions that will be there with us too because there’s a lot to get done; there’s pancake batter to be mixed and sausages to be cooked, and of course, served. It’s also the Paris Lions Club 95th anniversary this year, so every event we do this year is exciting because it’s celebrating that milestone too.”
For those who are interested in attending the event, it’s happening on Saturday, April 11, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The County of Brant will also be on site collection donations for local food banks.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
