NEWFIELD, Maine — Maine Maple Sunday capped off its fortieth year this Sunday, with hundreds of farms around the state opening their doors to Mainers and early-season tourists, according to Hilltop Boilers owner, Michael Bryant.
Bryant said his family has owned the farm in Newfield for nearly as long as Maine Maple Sunday has existed. He said the warmer afternoons with the cold nights of early spring make for the perfect opportunity to harvest sap. This year's crowd, Bryant explained, is in the thousands for his farm.
"We live right up the road so it makes it nice to come to see," said Sherie Szumita, who said she, along with her husband John, purchased a home in Newfield last year. They are lifelong Mainers but said this is the first Maine Maple Sunday they have been to.
"I love it. I love being out around the people and it's just a great experience for everyone living around Maine," Szumita said.
Bryant continues his walk through the gift shop, where a line snakes around the isles of syrup, whoopie pies, maple sugar, pancake mix, coffee, and maple fudge bars.
"It's kind of a big day and that spring is here and we made it through winter," Bryant remarked. "It's a huge boost to all the stores."
But while Maine Maple Sunday continues to imprint its decades-long legacy on Maine, a new tradition is taking shape: student-athletes becoming marketers of themselves, involving local brands in the process.
For Lawrence High School senior Jazmin Johnson and Sophomore Maddie Niles, the due from Fairfield are working with Pliable to sign with local Maine companies.
Niles signed with Hilltop Boilers in December 2022 and became the first Maine high school athlete to benefit financially from her name, image, and likeness since the Supreme Court ruling in 2021. Before that, it was prohibited from making money off your name and brand as a student-athlete.
"It's definitely cool and something I would never imagine doing when I was little," Niles said.
Johnson, who signed just over a month ago, according to Pliable, said it's a good way to get into marketing at a young age.
"Being able to come here and learn more about business and marketing... being able to expand my brand is a cool thing," Johnson commented.
Johnson said she will be attending Husson after graduating this spring while Niles hopes to play Division I field hockey when she graduates in two years.
"It's a big learning experience," Niles said.