As producers begin preparing for this year’s harvest, a new Maple Syrup Queen has been crowned ahead of the annual Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival.
McKenzie Soper, a 16-year-old junior at Maple Valley Jr./Sr. High School, was crowned the 2026 Maple Syrup Queen this week on Tuesday, Feb. 10, during the Queen’s Night event at the First Congregational Church in Vermontville.
She and the other two contestants, all juniors in the Maple Valley Schools district, enjoyed a dinner and conversation with judges before heading upstairs into the church’s sanctuary for questioning…