- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The annual California Honey Festival, free and open to the public, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 6 in downtown Woodland. It's about celebrating the importance of bees; the festival's mission is "to promote honey and honey bees and their products." Last year's event drew some 40,000 people.
Honey bees pollinate more than 30 California crops, including almonds, a $5 billion industry (no bees, no pollination, no almonds). Indeed, California produces more than a third of our country's vegetables and three-quarters of our fruits and nuts. However, colony losses are alarming due to pesticides, pests, predators and pathogens.
The event, launched in 2017, is both educational and entertaining. You can taste honey, check out bee observation hives, watch cooking demonstrations and kids' shows, taste mead and other alcoholic drinks (if you're of age) and learn about bees from beekeepers and bee scientists. Vendors, offering various products and food, will line the streets.
Co-founder of the California Honey Festival, with the city of Woodland, is Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, Robert Mondavi Institute. At her annual booth, she explains what the honey flavor wheel is and invites the crowd to sample honey varietals.
An integral part of the festival is the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), founded and directed by Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department Entomology and Nematology faculty. Since 2016, the CAMBP team has provided a program of learning, teaching, research, and public service, delivering comprehensive, science-based information about honey bees and honey bee health. They've donated donated 32,000 hours of volunteer time and served 186,630 individuals in education, outreach and beekeeping mentorship since 2016. Read more about their classes and their work on their website.
Here's a photographic glimpse of previous California Honey Festivals:
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
As the predominantly red-and-green holiday season draws to a close, and the year crawls to an end, it's time to "bee in the pink."
Pink?
Yes, "in the pink."
Skip the red. Ignore the green. Think "in the pink."
"In the pink" means to be in top form, in peak condition, in the best of health, and that's a good resolution for the New Year. (Not to mention every day of every year.)
And, if you keep bees, let's hope your bees will be "in the pink," too. Want to learn to about beekeeping? Contact the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program.
Happy New Year!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's World Bee Day!
How did that come about?
One word: Slovenia.
The Republic of Slovenia, rich in beekeeping history, asked the United Nations to proclaim an annual World Bee Day, and following a three-year international effort, the United Nations agreed to do so in December 2017.
So May 20 is the annual World Bee Day.
"Slovenia LOVES bees and beekeeping and it seems like California does, too!" says Wendy Mather, program manager of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP). "There are 72 Apprentice Assistant and 93 Apprentice level candidates vying for their CAMBP certification this year! The '22 season is buzzing."
Mather points out: "World Bee Day is a confirmation that we humans respect and appreciate our dependence on one of our favorite generalist pollinators, the honey bee, for a healthy, diverse diet. Bee health equals human health and we thank all our CAMBP volunteers for their service to humanity in helping to raise awareness of the importance of bee health and science-based beekeeping. Our members are honey bee ambassadors and are committed to environmental stewardship."
Cooperative Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the founding director of CAMBP. The organization has disseminated science-based beekeeping information through a network of trained volunteers since 2016.
CAMBP's vision is "to train Apprentice, Journey and Master level beekeepers so they can effectively communicate the importance of honey bees and other pollinators within their communities, serve as mentors for other beekeepers, and become the informational conduit between the beekeeping communities throughout the state and UCCE staff," according to its website.
Beekeepers and prospective beekeepers can sign up for classes, which run from February through October. Upcoming classes (many online but some in person)
- Honey Bee Health, May 21
- All About Varroa, June 4
- Queen Rearing Basics, June 11
- Pesticides, Colony Collapse Disorder, Research and Hope, June 18
- Wax Working, Honey and Hive Products, July 9
- Advanced Anatomy and Physiology of the Honey Bee, Aug. 13
- Seasonal Honey Bee Colony Management in Southern California, Sept. 17
- Broodminder: Apiary Technology and Honey Bee Health, Oct. 15
- Exploring Beekeeping in Person at the South Coast Research and Extension Center, Irvine, Oct. 22
That's it for the 2022 classes. In addition, there's an "Introduction to Mead" class offered Nov. 5. Mead or honey wine, is the world's oldest alcoholic beverage.
Let's hear it for the bees!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
They came to taste the honey, learn about the importance of honey bees, check out the bee observation hives, and to engage with beekeepers and merchants.
And to photograph and "bee" photographed with the costumed "Queen Bee" Wendy Mather, program manager of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program.
Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center and a co-founder of the California Honey Festival, explained what the honey flavor wheel is and invited the crowd to sample honey varietals.
Harris estimated the crowd at 40,000. "I got laryngitis," she said.
She also is the self-described "Queen Bee" of the Z Specialty Food/The Hive, Woodland. Her son, "nectar director" Josh Zeldner, also greeted the crowd at his booth. (They later hosted an after-party at The Hive.)
Claire Tauzer of Tauzer Apiaries/Sola Bee Farms and her worker bees talked about the wonders of bees, the merits of honey and offered visitors a taste of their honey. They displayed a bee observation hive. (See news story about the Tauzers).
Jer and Ellen Johnson of Uncle Jer's Traveling Bee Show, Elk Grove, entertained the crowd with shows throughout the day. Like the Tauzers, the California Master Beekeeper Program, Mann Lake Bee Supply and others, the Johnsons also showed festival-goers their bee observation hive, pointing out the three castes (queen, workers and drones) and the roles they play.
It was, as they say, a honey of a festival.
The event, launched in 2017, didn't happen in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
But it buzzed back into Woodland last Saturday to a crowd absolutely craving camaraderie...and liquid gold.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
After a two-year hiatus, the festival buzzed with life last Saturday, May 7 in downtown Woodland as visitors delighted in the bees, honey, music, food, arts and crafts, and children's activities. An estimated 40,000 attended, according to co-founder Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute.
The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) drew scores of visitors asking questions about the bee observation hive brought by CAMBP member Peter Kritscher of Walnut Creek. CAMBP member Karen Kiyo of Berkeley fielded questions about the life cycle of bees, as her dog, Django, wearing a colorful cone, sat at her feet. Angie Nowicki of Rohnert Park kept busy making wildflower seed balls for children to take home and plant as a way to help bees and other pollinators. Also in the children's activity center, youths made bee-themed headgear.
Wendy Mather, program manager of CAMBP, donned a bee costume to greet the crowd. Youngsters rushed up to her, adults took photos, and at least one dog, a bulldog named Bentley, barked at her.
So much happiness. So many memories. So much fun.
The California Honey Festival, launched in 2017, aims to inspire "people of all ages to protect and celebrate bees and other pollinators," Harris said. Some 100 vendors rented space.
UC Davis participants included:
- The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center displayed its honey flavor wheel and offered free honey tasting.
- The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden addressed pollinator needs and gardening.
- The UC Davis Bookstores booth contained honey, books, and other gifts for sale.
- The Bohart Museum of Entomology of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology exhibited traveling bee specimen cases showing bee diversity. Visitors held the stick insects (walking sticks) from the live "petting zoo." (Photos to come)
