So many queens at the California Honey Festival, which ended its two-day run on Sunday, May 17.
The event, held in Woodland on the Yolo County Fairgrounds, wouldn't be a festival without our participating UC Davis scientists and educators.
Amina Harris, retired director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, co-founded the festival in 2017 with the City of Woodland. She's now the self-described "queen bee" of her family's business, Z Specialty Food and The Hive.
We stopped by on Sunday to chat with Wendy Mather, co-program manager of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), and Samantha "Sam" Murray, education and garden coordinator of ENT's UC Davis Bee Haven. Their booths featured honey bee biology, observation hives and beekeeping equipment, microscopy demonstrations (four 'scopes dedicated to bees and pests), bee pests information on diseases, gardening with native plants (Bee Haven), children's craft activities, and books and education resources. Also represented, the UC Davis Bee Health Hub, which offers field and lab services to assist beekeepers with management decisions.
The Sacramento Area Beekeepers' Association (SABA) collaborated with CAMBP to staff the booths. SABA members Rick Brumm, Rick Moehrke, John Johnson, Pablo Gomez, Ron Vincent and Syretta Montes interacted with the crowds on Saturday, and Al Newton, Jeff Goding and Casey Scott participated on Sunday. Many of the SABA members are CAMBP members.
The Hive, Woodland, shared adjacent space with UC Davis, offering fairgoers a taste of honey and an opportunity to purchased many varietals.
So, how many queens at the festival? Well, there was the one inside the UC Davis bee observation hive (probably wondering why everyone was looking for her). "I found the queen!" And the others?
- American Honey Bee Queen and UC Davis alumna Delanie Craighead of San Diego, a member of CAMBP
- Amina Harris, the "queen bee" of her family's business, as earlier mentioned, and
- Elaborately costumed "Queen Bee" Kristen Cramer of the arts and entertainment business, Glass Slipper Dream Parties, Vacaville. Two costumed worker bees (Zoreen Macaraig and Ian P.) and a drone (Z Peoples) accompanied Cramer.
"Make way for the queen," the drone yelled, as the crowd parted to let the queen and her retinue (the worker bees) pass. Cell phone cameras recorded every move. What a delight to see!
"We are the entertainment and performance company Glass Slipper Dream Parties, which specializes in immersive atmosphere entertainment, themed performers, and character experiences for events and festivals," Cramer explained.
"Glass Slipper Dream Parties was asked to bring positive energy, atmosphere, and interactive entertainment to the Honey Festival, but what we created became so much more than that," she said. "Our goal was not only to entertain guests, but to help people fall in love with bees. They may be tiny creatures, but the impact they have on our world is enormous. Through costuming, character interaction, storytelling, and live performance, we wanted to create excitement, curiosity, and appreciation for pollinators in a way that felt magical and memorable for families.
"One of the highlights of the festival," Cramer said, "was The Waggle Dance, a performance written, produced, and choreographed by our very own Z Peoples, aka Mistah Z, and sung by Zoreen Macaraig, aka Zordonofdoom. The dance was inspired by the real communication method honey bees use to guide other bees to food sources. While entertaining audiences, the performance also educated viewers about the fascinating ways bees work together and support the ecosystem around us."
Cramer said "All of the bee costumes featured at the festival were completely handmade and custom designed by me, specifically for the event. From the wings and headpieces to the intricate detailing and textures, every piece was created to capture the beauty, whimsy, and importance of bees while still feeling approachable and family-friendly. The costumes were designed not just as outfits, but as visual storytelling pieces that helped bring the educational and interactive experience to life.
"Seeing children and adults alike become genuinely excited about bees was incredibly rewarding. If we helped even a few people walk away with a greater appreciation for these amazing little creatures, then we accomplished exactly what we hoped to do."
The California Honey Festival’s mission is to celebrate the importance of bees and to promote honey and honey bees and their products.
And the festival did just that...
Cover image: A queen bee with workers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)