BELOIT, Wis. (WTVO) — Families had a sweet morning in Beloit on Saturday.

The Welty Environmental Center held their 15th Annual “Maple Sugar Fest” after three years of waiting. Kids and adults learned about the tree-to-table process of harvesting sugar maples.

They got to hike to the sugar bush, collect sap and watch it boil down into maple syrup, and what better way to test the product than with a pancake and sausage breakfast?

Brenda Plakens, executive director of Welty Environmental Center, explained why late February is just the right time for the event.

“Maple trees nee morning, days above freezing and then nights below freezing. That’s when the sap starts to move because the trees are starting to wake up and get ready for spring, when they are actually going to start to put out buds and things like that,” Plakens said. “We have a certain small window.”

There was no shortage of maple-themed activities, including crafts, stories and basket weaving, but Plakens said that the maple sugar snow cones were the biggest hit with the kids.