2010 Honeybee Festival Buzzes Into Palisade April 16

Palisade, Colorado will become a “beehive” of activity Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17 when the Second Annual Palisade International Honeybee Festival kicks off with a variety of activities for the whole family.

On Friday, April 16, The Blue Pig Gallery will launch festivities Friday from 5-8 p.m. with a reception to meet artists who specialize in techniques that utilize bee’s wax. Dr. Gary McCallister, Mesa State biology professor, will lead a discussion, “The Native (Bees) Are Restless,” at 6 p.m. Appetizers and mead from The Meadery of the Rockies will be served.

Artists whose work will be shown include Michael Garlitz, pottery and honey pots; Gayle Gerson, encaustics; Maureen Howles, encaustics; Susan Metzger, batiks; Vera Mulder, batiks and encaustics, and Joseph Brown, glass bees.

On Saturday, April 17, the Festival will open at 11 a.m. at the Town Plaza and 3rd Street. Guests will enjoy live music, street vendors, educational presentations, food and mead, beer, wine and other beverages. There will be demos of batik art at The Blue Pig at 10:30 a.m., 12 noon, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and wax encaustics at The Twisted Brick Studios at 12 noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

For the kids, The Blue Pig also will host face painting by Lisa and Steve Silko from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and at 1 p.m., Dr. McCallister will offer a presentation featuring an empty beehive, beekeepers armor and equipment.