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Bug Squad Blog
By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It promises to be a honey of a festival. 

That would be the California Honey Festival set for 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, May 3 in downtown Woodland.

If you've been thinking about keeping bees or learning more about bees, the California Honey Festival is the place to "bee."

The free and family friendly event will feature scores of vendors, music, cooking demonstrations (the key ingredient is honey) and kids' activities.

The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), founded and directed by Elina Lastro Niño, professor of Cooperative Extension, Apiculture, and a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host six stations at this major event. At the CAMBP stations, you'll see queen bees, drones and workers, plus some of their enemies, the varroa mites. Kids will craft pom-pom bees, "pet a bee," and color them (on paper!). 

You'll learn about the four P's: pests, pathogens, pesticides and pasture. You'll learn about the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden installed and maintained by the UC Davis Department of Enotmology and Nematology. The Haven was installed in the fall of 2009 and is open to the public from dawn to dusk (no admission fee). 

Niño  serves as director of the UC Davis Bee Haven, which is located on Bee Biology Road next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. Samantha Murrray, a senior majoring in music at UC Davis, is the garden coordinator, and Joe Tauzer, the Laidlaw facility manager, assists. 

Overall, CAMBP officials are planning "an unforgettable, hands-on experience that brings science, stewardship, and creativity together in one exciting day!" said co-program managers Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad.

CAMBP is a science-based, continuous train-the-trainer program. Its vision? To certify Honey Bee Ambassador, 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." 

And, if you're thinking about "bee-coming" a beekeeper, you'll have CAMBP experts there to provide answers. CAMBP recommends you ask yourself these 9 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start Beekeeping. 

And honey? What would the California Honey Festival be without honey, offered for sale by various vendors? Flavors abound, from orange blossom to starthistle.