Oxford to hold first-ever Bee Festival this April

If you’re tired of this cold winter weather and ready to get back outside, put the Oxford Bee Festival on your calendar for April 12. 

The festival is inspired by Oxford’s rich history with beekeeping. Lorenzo Langstroth, known as “The Bee Man of Oxford” and the Father of American Beekeeping, is credited with revolutionizing the bee industry with his invention of a movable frame hive. Thanks to his work, industrial beekeeping boomed in the United States after the mid-1800s. 

For the past few years, Oxford residents and officials alike have tried to highlight the city’s place in beekeeping history. Last year, Joe Prescher and others completed a massive beehive-themed mural in an alley off of High Street, one of the city’s most significant works of public art. The Bee Festival will build on that momentum.

Kim Daggy, executive director of Enjoy Oxford, said they are excited about the festival because events like these are what make Oxford a special place to live. 

“I've been in as an attendee for Uptown Trick or Treat and overheard someone say, ‘I moved here because of [events] like this and that presence of community and activity and being involved,’” Daggy said. “Yeah, that was really nice to overhear.”

The festival will kick off with the OATS n’ Honey 5K and 10K at 9 a.m. on the Oxford Area Trail System, which the runs’ name plays off of. It’s $35 to sign up to run, and registration is open until the event starts. 

Starting at 1 p.m., the sound of upbeat live music played by Bee! The Band will fill Uptown. The band will play until 4 p.m. The band King Bee & the Stingers will take over playing soul, rock and blues music from 5-8 p.m.

Oxford has created a dedicated website for the event: www.oxfordbeefestival.com. According to the site, attendees will have plenty of options for food and drink throughout the day. The event will feature a beer garden with plenty of local beers to taste and food trucks to grab a bite to eat. Some bee-themed treats made with local honey will also be available. 

Throughout the day, local artists will paint rain barrels to promote conserving water. Raffle tickets will be available for festival goers to enter to win one of the barrels. 

Shademaker’s Garden Center is also creating a flower arch for the festival that will lead into the beehive mural alley, a perfect opportunity for aesthetic pictures. 

The festival is also kid-friendly. In Kids’ Corner, activities like face painting, putt-putt, a bouncy house and more will be available to keep the little ones entertained. 

Daggy said events like these are important because beyond bringing people together, they offer an opportunity to generate revenue for the city and its local vendors. 

“It's an economic impact driver because we bring people on the outside to come visit our hometown, which we love, and that helps keep Oxford top of mind for hopefully future residents as well as visitors,” Daggy said. 

Next year, Daggy said there will likely be another festival but the theme is yet to be determined.