By Heather Wood

Mark your calendar for the 2016 Annual Cone Health MedCenter Kernersville Honeybee Festival which will take place on Saturday, August 20 at Fourth of July Park.

Each year, the third Saturday of August brings a wholesome family event for everyone to enjoy! The Kernersville Honeybee Festival began in 1975 by celebrating the accomplishments of Brady Mullinax, Kernersville’s famous “Bee Man.”

The Kernersville Honeybee Festival has grown to host more than 80+ vendors and attracts well over 10,000 fun and friendly folks from our local region. There are plenty of activities that every attendee can enjoy.

With music on our Parks Chevrolet Main Stage, bring your chair and stay for one performance or listen all day. Every year the festival gives live performance opportunities to local musical talent. This year we will have a variety of musical performances by Michael Jacobs (Native American, roots rock and pop), Brooke McBride (country), and Les Moore Trio (jazz & blues). Throughout the day there will be several demonstrations around the park including, Triad Area Blacksmith’s, Zumba, Cheer, Self-Defense and 100.3 KISS FM personality Keith Allen. The radio station will host a “Singing Bee Contest” beginning at 12:55 p.m. To register, arrive early and visit the 100.3 KISS FM booth.

Then, there is “Food for the Soul,” New Orleans style shrimp and steak po’boys, polish sausage, barbecue, kettle corn, small doughnuts and funnel cakes, and more served with hospitality by food vendors from all over the area. It is a walker’s paradise with visual delights and mouthwatering treats at every stop.

Miss Mary’s Family Fun Hive will keep your busy bees happy throughout the day and is always a blast for all ages! Bring your friends to enjoy face painting, bounce houses, an obstacle course, pedestal joust, scramble slide, dunk booth, pony rides, trapeze, and other games. 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, Chick-fil-A of Kernersville, OmniSource, Hawthorne at the Meadows, and Metro PCS.

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 wander 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 booth.

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!