OBKA at the Blenheim Flower Show 21-23 June 24

The charitable objectives of the Oxfordshire Beekeepers Association are ‘to further and promote the craft of beekeeping and to advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment’ . Our annual stand at the Blenheim Flower Show is an ideal opportunity to do just that.

And, increasingly important these days, to inform the public about the threat to pollinators that is the Asian Hornet.

And to sell some honey 🙂

Organisation and set-up

Having a stand at the Blenheim Flower Show is quite an operation. As we are there for 3 days we need a ‘permanent’ tent where we can leave items overnight so need something more substantial than a pop-up gazebo, which would otherwise be ideal for a 1-day event. Volunteers are needed to collect all the equipment, set it up and strip out and return it to the Training Apiary. We also have the enclosure for the flying bees demonstrations. Most importantly of all, members are needed for all 3 days to cover the various stand roles – on the honey table selling honey, showing members of the public the observation hive and generally being around to talk about bees and beekeeping. A lot of work and planning goes into OBKA stand at the Blenheim Flower Show!

Real honey for sale

There is no doubt that a big draw of the OBKA stand is the real honey we have for sale, most of which comes from the Training Apiary bees. When selling the honey we made the point that the bees that produced the honey lived and foraged just 1km away – so truly local honey.

We had sample jars of both the runny and soft-set honey open so that potential buyers could have a taste – after which they inevitably bought a jar!

Honey sales this year was £1,927, a new record for the Blenheim Flower Show!

Find the queen…

Whilst the honey is a great attraction for the public (and source of income for the Association) we really want to talk about bees and beekeeping and one of the best places to do this is of course around the Observation hive.

Children love to find the queen (sometimes with a tiny bit of help….) and all generations are fascinated watching the bees on the comb.

Flying bees demonstrations

If looking at bees behind glass in the observation hive is fascinating, just imagine what it is like to touch a frame of bees – or to be able to taste some honey from a frame straight from a colony.

This is the premise behind the flying bees demonstrations that Peter Hawkins did three times a day for the three days of the show. He brings a nuc of bees and puts them in a classic WBC hive. We have a mesh compound where the hive sits so that the public is (fairly) safe from flying bees.

Can you help in 2025?

I don’t know about you but as a beekeeper there is nothing I like more than talking about beekeeping! Thus I thoroughly enjoy helping on the OBKA stand at the Blenheim Flower show as there is an (almost) captive audience who are desperate to hear about bees and beekeeping. Probably.

You don’t need to be an experienced beekeeper to help on the stand. If you keep bees, or even are just going through the Beginners Course, you’ll know more than enough to talk to the public about bees – as these thoughts from some members who were on the stand attest:

Good morning all, Alan here. As my first encounter with members of the OBKA, I was mightily impressed at how friendly and knowledgable they were. Peter and Eric who I worked with on Thursday setting up the tent etc, and of course, the ‘Spiracles’ lady, who’s name I seem to have forgotten but not the information she shared with me. Thank you all, it was a great introduction.

I had a great time at Blenheim talking to the parents and excited children. Showing them the Queen bee in the demonstration hive and inviting them to try the delicious honey. It was a great day and people were enthusiastic to learn about Honey Bees and Asian Hornets, I loved it! Best wishes Richard

Message from Penny 2024 student hoping to have bees soon.
Lovely to see how many people were interested in bees and their importance, and I surprised myself with being able to answer some questions!

Many people helped with the OBKA stand at the Blenheim Flower show but it would not have happened at all without Eric Perkins and Peter Hawkins, who we thank for all their hard work both behind the scenes planning for the show, and over the 3 days when they were both there every day.

Photos Credit Gary Thomas and Eric Perkins