'Buzzaar' all about bees in V.I.
Published: September 15, 2012
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
ST. CROIX - Dozens of St. Croix residents are expected to swarm to the Sunshine Mall today to find out why everyone is buzzing about the Virgin Fresh Beekeepers' "Buzzaar," now in its second year.
Audrey Browne, the Buzzaar's organizer, said it is an event that the V.I. Agriculture Department and its partners began last year. They have been looking forward to this year's presentation for a chance to check out locally made honey and products made from nature's original sweetener, she said.
According to Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen Jr., the Buzzaar was first organized to celebrate National Honey Month and to showcase the results of the Virgin Fresh Beekeeping Project, which was created to increase the production of local honey by training new beekeepers in the territory.
The Buzzaar is expected to include a beekeepers education display with the different parts of the hive, equipment used in the industry, information about the safety aspects of beekeeping and an observation hive filled with live bees. The live hive was a big attraction last year, according to Browne.
Local honey and products made from local honey as well as other parts of the beehive, such as beeswax, pollen and propolis - a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows or other botanical sources - will be on sale at the event. Some of the products include soaps, vinegar, candles, salad dressings, lip balms, lotions and wines - all made from honey or beeswax.
Brown said residents are encouraged to come out and be a part of this newly developed industry and see how bees are important to the pollination of many crops grown on the island and the rest of the world.
"Without them, we would not have at least half of the food that we have right now, and getting more people involved in the industry and growing it is something we hope that we can accomplish," she said.
The event is a partnership between the University of the Virgin Islands, the Agriculture Department, the V.I. Tourism Department and local beekeepers.
The Buzzaar will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Sunshine Mall Parking Lot and will move to St. Thomas from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Tutu Park Mall center court.
- Contact reporter Fiona Stokes at 714-9149 or email fstokes@dailynews.vi.
To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.
Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
