Maple syrup festivals

Forget looking towards groundhogs to predict the arrival of spring. Look to the trees!

Mountsberg and Crawford Lake conservation areas are launching maple syrup festivals this weekend. At Mountsberg, the annual Maple Town event will run on weekends, holidays and March break until April 3 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day. During the event, the pancake house on site will be serving up hot food and hot drinks, with lots of syrup to go around.

Crawford Lake Conservation Area is opening its Sweet Water Season on Saturday where people can walk around a reconstructed Iroquoian village and learn about the history of maple syrup. This festival will also run on weekends and holidays throughout March.

For more information, visit Conservation Halton online.

Hamilton Wood Show

The Hamilton Wood Show is on now, running until the end of the weekend at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. The annual show is entering its 21st year, showcasing the latest hand tools, power tools, design trends, finishes and wood kits. There will also be free seminars and special guests in attendance including Vic Tesolin, the author of the Minimalist Woodworker.

Tickets for youth under 17 and seniors cost $14, tickets for adults cost $15 and a weekend pass cost $25.

Visit woodshows.com for more information.

Ron Sexsmith in St. Catharines

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith takes the stage at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Friday evening. Returning to his former stomping grounds in St. Catharines at the end of a short winter tour, Sexsmith will close out his Canadian travels promoting his latest album, Carousel One, released last year.

Sexsmith will be performing at Partridge Hall with special guest Kevin Hearn, who is most often recognized as the multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies.

The show is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at FirstOntario online and cost $5 for high school students, $25 for university/college students, $38.25 for members and $45 for everyone else.

Hacking Health Hamilton

Hackers interested in the latest health care technologies, this is an event for you. A three-day hackathon event will be held at McMaster Innovation Park Atrium over the weekend with the goal of improving healthcare in Canada.

Running from Friday to Sunday, the event will bring together healthcare professionals, designers and developers to come up realistic, human-centric solutions to front-line problems. By the end of the weekend, an number of health apps are expected to be created and critiqued by a panel of judges. Winning teams will be given prizes.

Hacking Health, a Canada-based international non-profit organization, hosts the event.

Tickets for spectators cost $10, while developers can pay $40 to take part. Visit Hacking Health Hamilton for more information.

McMaster hosts Women in Engineering Excellence Day

McMaster University is hosting Women in Engineering Excellence Day to introduce senior high school students to the world of engineering. The event will allow 40 prospective female students and their parents to meet with female professors and alumna to give them a taste of what the world of engineering is all about.

The World Economic Forum announced in their Future of Jobs 2016 report that women are still underrepresented in areas of science, technology, engineering and math. The goal of this event is to make sure young women see these fields of study as possible options for them.

For more information, visit the event page online.

Bulldogs play double-header

The Hamilton Bulldogs will be facing off against the North Bay Battalion on Saturday night at home and then hosting the Saginaw Spirit on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs are looking to make up ground on the Battalion, who currently sit in third place in the Ontario Hockey League's eastern conference standings.

The puck drops on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at FirstOntario Centre. Tickets are available online or at the box office and range between $20 and $29. Sunday's game begins at 3 p.m.

Annual orchid show

The Royal Botanical Gardens will host the Orchid Society's annual spring show and sale. The event, held from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Royal Botanical Garden Centre, will feature orchid displays by growers from across Canada and the United States.

Now into its 35th year, the annual event is aimed at showcasing the diversity and beauty of orchids. There will also be exhibits of flower arrangements, paintings, photographs and plants available for purchase.

Photographers looking to capture images of the displays will be welcome to take pictures between 8 and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Visit Royal Botanical Gardens online for more details and events.