By JOLENE CRAIG
Ohio Correspondent

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — The 2009 West Virginia Honey Festival will have a full schedule of events in Parkersburg City Park, about five miles from the Ohio border, this weekend.

Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday with admission of $3 per person and $1 for children aged 5 to 12. Children younger than 5-years-old are free.
The 29th annual state honey festival will feature a variety of activities, displays, vendors and entertainment. One highlight, according to organizer Tom Riddle, is a presentation by Dr. Nancy Ostiguy, a guest speaker from Penn State University.

The title of Ostiguy’s program is What Is Happening With the Honey Bee Today, which will take place Saturday at 2 p.m. on the main stage. Ostiguy is an associate professor in the Department of Entomology at Penn State and has been conducting research on honey bee health for the past decade. Her work includes non-pesticidal approaches to control honey bee pests, interactions between the varroa mite, an obligate parasite of the honey bee, and endemic honey bee viruses, epidemiology of honey bee viruses, abiotic influences on honey bee survival, and factors related to honey bee nutrition and stressors.

She studies sustainable and organic agriculture with a focus on honey bees.

Riddle said the Honey Festival’s purpose has always been to promote the honey industry through crafts, entertainment and products.

“The biggest draws to the festival are the bee beard and the West Virginia Honey Princess Pageant,” he said.

This year’s festival will include a honey and wax show, honey and beeswax products, a honey bake contest, honey extraction and beehive demonstrations. There will also be candle dipping and cooking demonstrations, historical presentations and live bee beards by Steve Conlon. Conlon has attended the festival for several years and uses hundreds of live bees to create a beard.
Demonstrations and activities will include woodworking, candle making, spinning, weaving, corn shelling and grinding, period toys and games, transportation, blacksmithing, paper marbling, animal tracks and skins and other heritage-related activities.

Live entertainment at this year’s festival’s will include Hot Pursuit Band, Emily Emrick, Steve and Bev Pottmeyer, Bobby Kirl, Heaven’s Rush and Class Act Cloggers. The annual West Virginia Honey Princess pageant for girls ages 8 to 11 will be Saturday at 11 a.m.
Demonstrations on the extraction of honey and honey bees will be given throughout both days of the festival by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture in the pavilion and on the grounds. Honey tasting will be ongoing in the pavilion and will be provided by the West Virginia Beekeepers Assoc.

According to the festival’s website (www.wvhoneyfestival.org), the event was formed to celebrate and educate the public on the importance of the Honey Bee and the goodness of honey.