DAY OF THE HONEY BEE 2012

WHEN: Saturday 26 May 2012, 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m
WHERE: Forks Market, Winnipeg; Centre Court area, near kitchen (Centre Aisle-West end)
WHAT: Celebrate the Importance of Honey Bee for pollination
WHO: Food consumers, gardeners, farmers and fruit growers are invited
WHY: To see and learn which foods depend on pollinators.

Last Yeat, The Manitoba Beekeepers Association (MBA) were pleased the Provincial Government, and several Rural Minicipalities (ST.Andrews, Rosser, Rockwood, Gimli, and Whitemouth) around Winnipeg, proclaimed 29 May 2011 as “The Day of The Honey Bee” in recognition of their importance for pollinating plants producing foods people eat.

MBA represents about 500 beekeepers with over 78,000 colonies of honey bees, contributing about $20M to the economy of Manitoba. Although ‘Honey” is our main product visible on store shelves, bee pollination services results in many fruit, vegetable and seed crops being available, not only in Manitoba, but in many agricultural locations across the country. Although Honey represents about a $20M industry in Manitoba, it is estimated that the results of pollination contributes approximately $40M to our Manitoba economy.

One particularly important pollination service takes place, in February, in the Almond Orchards of California, which ultimately produce the Almond nuts we enjoy as a health food and as an everyday treat. Meanwhile here in Canada, the prairie provinces are number one in the world for Hybrid Canola pollination, and were number two in the world for Blueberry pollination. In Manitoba, gardeners, farmers and fruit growers depend on pollinators for apples, strawberries, raspberries, cucumbers, cantaloupe and other such produce.

The general public is becoming more aware of the need for pollinators due to the media coverage of the decline in bee population required for things such as almond pollination. Honey Bee decline, although not fully explained, as there are several factors contributing to the situation, is causing concern, as about 1/3 of the food we eat comes from pollinated plants. To increase public awareness of the value of pollination and the linkage to the many foods we eat, MBA joined many other groups and individuals for the Canada-wide Celebration of “The Day of The Honey Bee”.

Celebrations in 2011 took place in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg. Meanwhile other provinces, such as Ontario and Quebec had municipalities and cities recognizing the day, plus other cities came on board as the celebration date approached.

In addition, one of the more active promoters of the awareness day celebration has been Clinton Shane Ekdahl from Saskatoon, SK, who plans several events leading up to May 29th. Shane was instrumental in selecting the May 29th date, in part; to honour the date adventurers reached the top of Mount Everest. For those following such adventures, Edmund Hilary was the first to climb Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Edmund was also a passionate naturalist and a dedicated beekeeper.

For the Manitoba Celebration, three groups joined forces for the promotion. MBA, the provincial honey producer organization, in conjunction with the Red River Apiarists Association, the Winnipeg area hobby beekeeper group, and the Brandon Area Beekeepers Association, planned a “Great Foods…Pollinated by Honey Bees” promotion at The Forks Market, Winnipeg.

To honour the “Day of the Honey Bee”, their importance to the agricultural community, contribution to the provincial economy, environmental friendly impact, plus their contribution to our food supply, and our need to protect them, several events took place, along with communications with beekeepers throughout the day.

The main focus was a table filled with foods from plants requiring pollination (i.e. Sunflower, Raspberry, Pumpkins, Canola (oil), cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, mint etc). Other features include pollination presentations from honey producers, videos on importance of bees, interactive display of live bees hosted by honey producers, favourite food contest for children, and vendors promoting floral specific honey and other hive products. In addition, we incorporated radio, TV and other media coverage leading up to the event.

Beekeepers from across Manitoba invited all interested gardeners, farmers, and food consumers, their families, friends, and relatives to gather at the Forks Market, Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Market opened at 9:00 a.m. and folks can shop at all outlets until 6:00 p.m. closing time on Sunday.

The “Live” Honey Bee display was in the Centre-west aisle, often called Centre Court. We were located adjacent to the kitchen area at the west end of the aisle.

For more information, contact Jim Campbell at 467-5246, or Charles Polcyn at 284-7064, or any of the beekeeping club members.

2012 Manitoba Honey Show

The Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association (MBA) sponsors a yearly Competition for honey producers including an industry promotional element for honey consumers. Typical categories include: Honey, Comb, Frames, Beeswax, Photography and often a Beverage category too! Note the NEW photo category reflecting the 2011 theme “Pure Manitoba Honey – In Many Forms”. Check out the Honey Show Rules and Regulations. The show is usually organized and staffed by members of the Winnipeg area Hobby group (Red River Apiarists Association). To enter, fill out a Honey Show Entry Form.

Location: Centre Court Area, Forks Market, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Theme: Pure Manitoba Honey–In Many Forms

Dates: Friday September 28 thru Sunday September 30, 2012

Last year, The 2011 Manitoba Honey Show attracted considerable visitor attention with the theme “Pure Manitoba Honey- in many forms”, along with several new competition entrants.

The 2011 Manitoba Honey Show took place the weekend of September 31- October 2, at the Forks Market, Winnipeg. The purpose of the show continues to be based around interacting with consumers about the benefit of honey bees for pollinating foods we eat plus providing a healthy food, educating consumers on the uses and varieties of honey products, and empowering consumers to communicate directly with local food producers.

As part of the plan to enhance and stimulate conversations with consumers, the Show featured an array of items promoting recent innovations in honey packaging. Colourful signage drew people’s attention to the beneficial uses and conveniences of honey found on store shelves “in many forms”, which range from new aseptic honey dispensor, to snap packs to dried wafers.

Promotion for the show was done via news releases to various Winnipeg area papers plus the Manitoba Co-operator. As a result, the cooperator conducted an interview with Jim Campbell, MBA Secretary and RRAA Executive member on 30 September, who described the purposes of the show and the value of Honey Bees to the pollination and honey economy of Manitoba. 

With a little creativity, the new table setup helped traffic flow while providing adequate access to the Competition area, the Industry space, the Observation Hive, the Product area, and the newly added “Honey Forms” promotion display.

The Honey Competition featured four new entrants for 2011, which provided a welcome sight, creating a good active competition from beginning beekeepers to those with many years under their belt.  Prize winning honey frames attractively capped with beautiful white wax intrigued visitors. In another area photographs highlighted various elements of the Beekeeping industry. A new category for 2011 focused on the theme “Pure Manitoba Honey-In many Forms”. At the educational element showing Honey Throughout the Year, Ken Rowes had jars with different colours reflecting floral source nectar at different times of the season. Thanks to Donna, Ken, Sandra, Barb, Jim and Don for setting up the display, and Charles for bringing material from Bee Maid

Live Bees in the Observation Hive continue to enthrall both young and older visitors, where beekeeper volunteers spent many hours describing the intricacies of hive life. Thanks to staff at U of M, the yellow dot on the thorax of the queen aided viewers in their quest for the queen. Thanks to John Speer, Duane Versluis, Brian & Sandra Smith, Josh Kolesar, Don Gray and Jim Campbell for informing visitors at this station. Conversations often led guests to express their concern for bee losses and the probable causes. Consumers still are interested in obtaining pollination for their garden vegetables and fruit trees. 

Interactive Demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday entertained visitors at the show by drawing attention to the benefits of our industry. Cooking and Extracting demonstrations were conducted periodically during the three-day event. Thanks to John Russell, a trained chef, taking control at the kitchen grill, while Charles Polcyn turned the manual extractor into a honey-making machine.

Meanwhile, the Hourds and Polcyns were kept busy offering samples of products, answering visitor questions, and serving their customers wit various honey and bee related products.

Thanks to the many volunteers helping out, the entrants for the show, MBA financial support, Bee Maid financial donation and equipment loaners. Special appreciation to the Honey Show judges: Sam Barlin, Josh Kolesar, and David Ostermann for judging the competition entries.

What a great weekend for the show! Lots of visitors and the weather was super nice!