AVL Honey Fest

TODAY: FREE on-site parking and FREE shuttle service available from the Asheville Visitor Center at 36 Montford Avenue every 15 minutes! Come on down and get your tickets at the door! This is a beautiful day for an unBEElievably fun event! **PLEASE NOTE: no parking at Zen Tubing today for Salvage Station patrons**

Looking for a buzz-worthy event? Look no further than Asheville’s 2nd Annual Honey Festival! Join the Center for Honeybee Research and Shanti Elixirs on Sunday, June 4th, from 12-6pm for a day of celebration, education, and community-building.

At the festival, you’ll enjoy live music, food trucks, and vendors showcasing the unique flavors of honey and other artisanal goods. But that’s not all: you’ll also be supporting a great cause, as proceeds from the festival will go towards saving pollinators and our planet.

The Center for Honeybee Research will be offering local and international honey for guests to sample and purchase, and you can even participate in the People’s Choice award for local honey vendors. Plus, we will be featuring the live finals of the 12th Annual International Black Jar Honey competition. Festival goers can watch as local celebrities determine the world’s best tasting honey. 

And don’t forget to come dressed in your best pollinator-themed costume! It’s all part of the fun at Asheville’s 2nd Annual Honey Festival.

Personal water bottles are recommended, and families are encouraged to attend. So mark your calendars for June 4th, and come out to celebrate the wonderful world of beekeeping, honey, and all things pollinators. Together, we can help save the bees!

Doors open at 12PM and the music starts at 12:30PM. Tickets are now on sale ($15 General Admission)! Children under 12 are admitted for free; along with teachers and first responders who have a valid ID; tickets otherwise required. FREE on and off-site parking with shuttle service.

ABOUT THE BARSTERS:

The Barsters is a collaboration between some of WNC’s finest bluegrass and mountain music singers and string players: fiddler Rob Mangum, banjoist/guitarist Doug Sharkey, mandolinist James Johnson, guitarist Parrish Ellis, and upright bassists Kevin Kerhberg and Travis Stuart. 

As befits a truly egalitarian and democratic collaboration, all of the members take turns singing lead and harmony vocals. The song selection is also equally curated between the members and spans a large spectrum of American stringband music including the classic bluegrass sounds of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, The Stanley Brothers, Doc Watson; the honky-tonk dancehall songs of Hank Williams, George Jones, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson; the progressive acoustic sounds of John Hartford, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan; folk rock standards by Bob Dylan, The Band, CCR, The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers; the old-time fiddle-banjo tradition of the southern Appalachian mountains; and original songs and fiddle tunes contributed by each of the members. 

ABOUT QUEEN BEE & THE HONEYLOVERS:

Queen Bee and the Honeylovers is an unabashedly joyful swing band that performs all-original compositions with a dedicated ‘nod’ to the small-jazz-combo and ‘hot club’ legends who first defined the genre. Their debut album, ‘Asheville’, celebrated their hometown’s history and won them #41 on WNCW’s listener-voted poll of Best Albums of 2019 as well as features on The State of Things with Frank Stasio and PBS Woodsongs. Their video for “Beacham’s Curve” won Best Soundtack at the 2019 Music Video Asheville Awards. Vocal-driven with an infectious groove, the Honeylovers are guaranteed to put a grin on your face and a tap in your toes. 

LISTEN TO QUEEN BEE & THE HONEYLOVERS:

ABOUT CHIKOMO MARIMBA:

Chikomo Marimba is a high-energy Zimbabwean Marimba group based in Asheville, NC. We blend traditional Zimbabwean style marimba with other styles and modern instruments including claves and a drumset. Our music lends itself well to festivals, events, house parties, and other community gatherings.

LISTEN TO CHIKOMO MARIMBA:

LISTEN TO SOL DRIVEN TRAIN: