The annual celebration of all things honey will kick off in two weeks, with the Honey Festival being the first of many events throughout May to promote the importance of Australian honeybees and their products.
Now in its fifth year and having been expanded to a national platform after commencing in Western Australia in 2012, the Honey Festival will take place at The House of Honey on Sunday 1 May, and is expected to attract more than 3,000 visitors.
WAFarmers Bees Section President Leilani Leyland said the event would be an opportunity for the beekeeping industry to educate the community on the importance of bees in the ecosystem, on food diversity and the many valuable healing properties of honey.
“The general public is always excited to learn about beekeeping and honey and, as such, they need to understand and value the importance of bees as master pollinators and how important they are to our food diversity in Australia,” Mrs Leyland said.
“Beekeeping is a career that is declining in numbers through a retiring workforce, so with this in mind one of the driving forces is to develop an interest in the younger workforce as well as educate the public to support WA honey and their beekeepers.”
The event is open to beekeepers, people within the industry and the general public. Beekeepers are encouraged to bring their honey to be judged in the honey competition, and visitors can make a Honey Cake from a specific recipe, to be judged between 10.00am and 11.00am.
There will also be plenty of activities for younger visitors, with bee ‘waggle’ dance classes at 2.00pm, pollination trails and fun facts galore about bees and honey.
Further information and registration forms for the Honey Cake competition can be found at www.thehouseofhoney.com.au.
Honey Festival details
Date: Sunday 1 May, 2016
Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm
Venue: The House of Honey, 867 Great Northern Highway, Herne Hill
Activities and highlights: Honey Cake judging by Chef Dale Sniffen, plus People’s Choice; demonstration of cranes by Ezyloader NSW; meet commercial and hobbyist beekeepers, observe how beekeepers load trucks; light a smoker; see a bee up close under a microscope.
