Eighth annual Bee Jubilee draws crowd despite heat

People were all abuzz at this year’s Bee Jubilee.

The Granville County Beekeepers Association brings together local apiaries, lecturers, and artisans fo the Bee Jubilee, which is a gathering for people to learn about and celebrate bees and beekeeping.

The bee jubilee was set up to spread awareness of the decreasing bee population, raise money for the bee association, and to bring local beekeepers together. The event included classes such as Honey Bee Diseases & Viruses and Beekeeping 101. Informative booths shared tips on beekeeping as well.

The Bee Jubilee was hosted by Granville County beekeepers and funded by numerous sponsors and the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association.

The Granville County Beekeepers Association meets the first Thursday of every month, holding classes and raising money for local beekeepers. New keepers are given a mentor to teach how to set up their hive and care for the bees.

Lynn Dunkin, secretary of the county beekeepers club, majored in biology in college and was always fascinated by living things. She became a beekeeper to help prevent the near extinction of honeybees.

Dunkin is devoted to promoting bees and their effect on humanity.

Over its eight-year history, attendance at the Bee Jubilee has increased every year until last year’s event brought out 2,000 people on a rainy day.

This year’s event boasted 130 vendors.

“We added about 30 vendors this year,” said Christi Henthorn, president of Granville County Beekeepers and a board member of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association.

The event promotes “homegrown and handmade,” she said.
“We have some amazing vendors with some amazing stuff,” Henthorn said.

Bees have a mutual relationship with flowers. The queen, who is the only female bee capable of reproduction, lays eggs in the cells. Larva usually take two to three weeks to fully mature.

Worker bees, who are all female, use pheromones to communicate where water or flowers are located so other worker bees can collect the nectar to bring back to the hive. While the nectar is carried, it turns to honey within the bee.

Drones — male bees — live less than a month and their only purpose is to reproduce with the queen. In the winter they are kicked out of the hive to conserve resources.

The Bee Jubilee had something for everyone. There were food trucks, honey sellers, local artists, and dancers. Local honey sellers harvest honey from their bee farms, known as apiaries.

There are two kinds of honey: early honey, and late honey. Early honey is from spring blossoms earlier in the year, making it golden in color with a light sweet flavor. Late honey is from later in the year and has a deep brown color with a stronger, more robust flavor.

There were many artistic people selling their crafts.

Annette Ferguson is a teacher who taught herself book folding as a hobby. She was noticed by a Bee Jubilee host who invited Annette to share her crafts at the event.

James and Denise Quinn own a business called Quinn’s Creations. They make jewelry out of antique silverware.

James bends and welds it into different sized rings and bracelets. You can find their wares at the Giving Tree in Wake Forest and Youngsville.

Their business started when Denise Quinn had a gift idea for Christmas for their daughters, so James got an antique silverware set and made them rings and bracelets.

The Bee Jubilee is growing every year.

This year is expected to be the biggest one yet. There was great representation by local beekeepers and many skilled craftsmen and artisans.

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