National Honey Bee Day is August 18th, and Bee Friends Farm is celebrating with Jacksonville’s first ever Honey Bee Festival 10 AM to 7 PM at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds.
I know, I know, it’s August in Florida and how many outdoor festivals are we expected to endure? Well, NOT THIS ONE because IT’S INSIDE AND AIR CONDITIONED at the Jacksonville fairgrounds. Praise bee. Bee Friends Farm will be helping festival goers learn about the sweet process of beekeeping, the lives of the bees, and honey, from hive to bottle. In addition to shopping with more than 40 local vendors, folks will be able to do a full honey tasting at the Bee Friends Farm Honey Tasting Bar and purchase honey as well.
There are several parts to the festival; Buzy Bee Market Place, Bee a Kid Zone hosted by Honey Bee a Keeper, Hive Education Annex, Honey Bar Tasting Area.
Bee with pollen, Photo Courtesy of Bee Friends Farm
The Buzy Bee Market Place features over 40 amazing local artisans like Epic Creamery Ice Cream Sandwiches, Pooch Pantry Foods, Apple Rose Beauty, Hotter Than El Hot Sauce, Petal and Stone and many, many more. Attendees will be able to do their weekly shopping at Saturiwa Mobile Trading Company which stocks carefully selected local products. The mobile market specializes in local dairy, meat, produce and hard to find items like black garlic and alligator.
The Bee a Kid Zone will be hosted by Honey Bee A Keeper, a local company run by Teacher and Beekeeper Meghan Orman. They specialize in honey bee education for kids. The Bee A Kid Zone features hands-on modules for children to learn about bee biology, how honey is produced and discover more about the environment around them. At other stations, kids can craft art and plant a seed.
The Honey Bee Educational Annex will be host engaging, educational speakers with sessions that extend throughout the day. There will be sessions on Backyard Beekeeping hosted by the Jacksonville Beekeepers Association, Mead Making led by Phillip Maple, Head Brewer at Wicked Barley, Planting for Pollinators led by Tim Armstrong of Eat Your Yard Jax and more.
This festival is free to attend and easy onsite parking is available for just $5 per car at the Fairgrounds. We’ll see you at the Honey Bee Festival on August 18th!
For more information check out the Honey Bee Festival Event Page.
Honey Bee Festival Speaker Schedule