The American Honey Queen is visiting two San Luis Obispo County Farmers’ Markets to teach market-goers all about honey and bees.
Reigning Honey Queen Kim Kester represents the American Beekeeping Federation and its more than 200,000 beekeepers. She travels the nation promoting and educating people on all things bees. Kester is currently earning her master’s degree at Iowa State University in agricultural education. She’ll be on hand for cooking demonstrations, passing out special materials to kids, and showing live active bees in a hive in Morro Bay on Thursday, April 28 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Market runs 2:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.) in Spencer’s Fresh Markets Parking Lot, 2650 Main St., and in San Luis Obispo on Saturday, April 30 from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. (Market runs 8 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.) at World Market, Embassy Suites Parking Lot, 325 Madonna Rd.
Bees are essential to Central Coast agriculture, and experts say many of our food crops would disappear without bees to pollinate them. California also has the standing record for honey production. In 1976 a beekeeper in Santa Cruz extracted 404 pounds from a single hive, setting a Guinness World Record.
The SLO County Farmers’ Market Association operates five weekly markets in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande. For more information, visit SLOCountyFarmers.org.