by Heather Wood

If you have never had the pleasure of tasting local honey—“honey, you’re missin’ out on liquid gold!”  In addition to being downright delicious, it is also a natural remedy for seasonal allergies.  I bet that got your attention.

Being able to purchase local honey is not the only reason you should ‘bee’ at the Kernersville Honeybee Festival presented by Cone Health on Saturday, August 15 in Fourth of July Park.  Authentic arts and crafts, food trucks, music, and kid’s activities will also be there for your entertainment.

Thanks to Brady Mullinax, Kernersville native, and his efforts to distinguish the honeybee as our state insect on March 5, 1973, the festival has grown to host more than 80 vendors and attracts well over 10,000 fun and friendly folks from our local region.

The Kernersville Honeybee Festival is known for its authentic arts and crafts vendors that come from near and far to be part of this unique event.  Stroll the shaded pathways through the park to visit vendors selling homemade jewelry, bath products, repurposed items, quilts, wreaths, baked items, and more.  As you wonder through you will notice a bee theme at nearly every booth.  Did we mention the live bee observation hive?  The Honeybee Festival would not be complete without a firsthand glance at a live bee hive!  It will be located at the Forsyth Bee Keepers & Cagle Family Honey booths.

This festival is also a great place to be at lunch time.  Taste buds and tummies will delight with everything from traditional carnival eats, to exotic food truck cuisine, to tons of icy treats!  Grab a picnic table and you will have it made in the shade.

Every year the festival gives live performance opportunities to local musical talent on the Parks Chevrolet Main Stage.  This year, we will have musical performances by Michael Jacobs (Native American, roots rock and pop), Brooke McBride (country), and Les Moore Trio (jazz and blues). Throughout the day there will be several demonstrations around the park including, Triad Area Blacksmith’s, RDU & KAT Tennis, and 100.3 KISS FM personality Andie Cooper.  The radio station will host a “Singing Bee Contest” beginning at 12:55p.m.  To register, arrive early and visit the 100.3 booth.

Miss Mary’s Family Fun Hive will keep your busy bees happy throughout the day with face painting, bounce houses, an obstacle course, pedestal joust, scramble slide, dunk booth, and other games.  There is enough fun for the entire family!  Please be sure to visit the various kid friendly vendor booths also, located in Miss Mary’s Family Fun Hive and thank area sponsors, including Kernersville Magazine and Chick-fil-A of Kernersville.

To stay up-to-date on the latest information about the Kernersville Honeybee Festival visit our website at www.KVHoneybee.com.  If you are interested in volunteering for the Honeybee Festival, please contact Kernersville Parks and Recreation Department at 336-996-3062.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our traditional family festival in Kernersville!  Buzz through and see what our town has to offer!

———————————————-

5 Health Benefits of  Local Honey

Prevent Cancer and Heart Disease

Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease.

Reduce Ulcers and Other Gastrointestinal Disorders

Recent research shows that honey treatment may help disorders such as ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis. This may be related to the 3rd benefit…

Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Fungal

“All honey is antibacterial, because the bees add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide,” said Peter Molan, director of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Increase Athletic Performance

Ancient Olympic athletes would eat honey and dried figs to enhance their performance.  This has now been verified with modern studies, showing that it is superior in maintaining glycogen levels and improving recovery time to other sweeteners.

Reduce Cough and Throat Irritation

Honey helps with coughs, particularly buckwheat honey.  In a study of 110 children, a single dose of buckwheat honey was just as effective as a single dose of dextromethorphan in relieving nocturnal cough and allowing proper sleep.