Gastonia Farmers Market event has bees buzzing
Plan on “bee”-ing at the Gastonia Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 19.
Gastonia and Keep Gastonia Beautiful, in partnership with the Gaston County Beekeepers Association, Master Gardeners Group of Gaston County, Gaston County, and volunteers from all of these groups will be available to educate, entertain and inform all interested big and little folks on the importance of all pollinator animals and pollinator plants.
This informative event will take place around the physical building of the Farmers Market. A welcome table will provide information and direction, volunteers will be there to answer your questions about pollinator plants and most other gardening questions.
Certainly the highlight of this event will be the “Beezeebo,” an enclosed working bee hive, complete with a beekeeper who can and will answer anything you need to know about starting and maintaining a healthy bee colony.
The Gaston County Beekeepers Association, a chapter of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association meets the last Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Citizens Resource Center, 1303 Dallas-Cherryville Highway in Dallas. If you haven’t had the opportunity to meet our mascot, Miss Polly Nator will also be at the event, with her very good friend, Julie Heath!
Joining Carly Bostic in the Kids’ Corner of the Farmers Market will be Miss Metrolina, Kaitlyn Sparks, and will share crafts and fun with the kiddos! Another outstanding person you will want to meet is Gastonia’s very own horticulturalist, Heather Stephens. She comes to the city from 25 years of working experience…wholesale and retail, city of Charlotte’s arborist’s office, the private sector landscaping company and lead horticulturalist at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, and boy, are we thrilled and excited about securing this amazing professional for our city.
She has designed and will continue to establish working pollinator gardens throughout the city…check out the gardens at the Garland Center and then look at the brand new gardens just planted at the Farmer’s Market…yes, you too, will start your own gardens like Heather’s…perennial plants that will need to get established, then given care, water and sunshine, and soon, your very own garden will look like the Garland Center beds!
Sam Braxton, the chairman of the Bee Committee for Keep Gastonia Beautiful, is a beekeeper in his own right! We are grateful to have his expertise and knowledge as part of our board. Burton Beasley has been an integral part of this committee also as president of the Gaston County Beekeepers Association, and although he personally won’t be on hand, other members will be. (I wonder if his name “Beasley” should be spelled “Beesley”?)
This chapter with over 75 years of existence, won the Golden Achievement Program award for 2019-2020, exemplifying their high standards and commitment to community, members and the beekeeping world. (For more information, www.gastonbee.org).
Also on hand will be Ernest Sumner from the Community Foundation. Due to the generosity of the Foundation, the educational beds, the pollinator beds and the magnificent Bee Mural located inside the Farmers Market were made possible through their contribution to the efforts now part of our Farmers Market.
Wow, things in Gastonia just keep on happening! We are so fortunate to have a viable farmers market, a bustling downtown with new establishments, a new baseball team…the Honey Hunters…the synergy is explosive!
As our community rebounds from the pandemic, it is refreshing to watch as our community returns to normal, folks get out to downtown Rotary concerts, shopping and eating at our restaurants and enjoying the amenities that all of Gaston County affords our residents!
Nan Kirlin is recycling coordinator for Gaston County.
