UC Davis Buzzes Into California Honey Festival
UC Master Beekeeper Program, Bee Haven, Bee Health Hub Join With Others
UC Davis scientists and educators helped make the 2026 California Honey Festival "a honey of a festival" at the two-day event celebrated May 16-17 on the Yolo County Fairgrounds, Woodland.
The fairgrounds buzzed with educational and entertaining activities.
On Sunday, two members of E. L. Niño lab, UC Davis Department of Entomologist and Nematology (ENT), staffed the UC Davis booth: Wendy Mather, co-program manager of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), and Samantha "Sam" Murray, education and garden coordinator of ENT's UC Davis Bee Haven.
They answered questions about bees, and showed children how to create bee headbands and bee craft projects.
The CAMBP booths featured honey bee biology, observation hives and beekeeping equipment, microscopy demonstrations (four 'scopes dedicated to bees and pests), bee pests information on diseases, gardening with native plants (Bee Haven), children's craft activities, and books and education resources. Also represented, the UC Davis Bee Health Hub, which offers field and lab services to assist beekeepers with management decisions.
The Sacramento Area Beekeepers' Association (SABA) collaborated with CAMBP to staff the booths. SABA members Rick Brumm, Rick Moehrke, John Johnson, Pablo Gomez, Ron Vincent and Syretta Montes interacted with the crowds on Saturday, and Al Newton, Jeff Goding and Casey Scott participated on Sunday. Many of the SABA members are CAMBP members.
The result: a wealth of information for the festival=goers.
"Our presence at the Honey Festival was elevated by our collaboration with the Sacramento and Area Beekeepers Association," Mather said. "We are very fortunate to have a bee club in proximity to Davis with members who are excited to serve and raise awareness of the importance of science based beekeeping and honey bee health."
The Hive, Woodland, shared adjacent space with UC Davis, offering fairgoers a taste of honey and an opportunity to purchased many varietals.
Amina Harris, retired director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center and now the self-described "queen bee" of her family's business, Z Specialty Food and The Hive, co-launched the California Honey Festival in 2017 with the City of Woodland.
The queen bee was not only in the CAMBP observation hive. Other queens came forth:
- American Honey Bee Queen and UC Davis alumna Delanie Craighead of San Diego, a member of CAMBP
- Amina Harris, the "queen bee" of her family's business, and
- Elaborately costumed "Queen Bee" Kristen Cramer of the arts and entertainment business, Glass Slipper Dream Parties, Vacaville. Two costumed worker bees (Zoreen Macaraig and Ian P.) and a drone (Z Peoples) accompanied Cramer.
"Make way for the queen," the drone yelled, as the crowd parted to let the queen and her retinue (the worker bees) pass. Cell phone cameras recorded every move.
"We are the entertainment and performance company Glass Slipper Dream Parties, which specializes in immersive atmosphere entertainment, themed performers, and character experiences for events and festivals," Cramer explained.
"Glass Slipper Dream Parties was asked to bring positive energy, atmosphere, and interactive entertainment to the Honey Festival, but what we created became so much more than that," she said. "Our goal was not only to entertain guests, but to help people fall in love with bees. They may be tiny creatures, but the impact they have on our world is enormous. Through costuming, character interaction, storytelling, and live performance, we wanted to create excitement, curiosity, and appreciation for pollinators in a way that felt magical and memorable for families.
"One of the highlights of the festival, Cramer said, was The Waggle Dance, a performance written, produced, and choreographed by our very own Z Peoples, aka Mistah Z, and sung by Zoreen Macaraig, aka Zordonofdoom. The dance was inspired by the real communication method honey bees use to guide other bees to food sources. While entertaining audiences, the performance also educated viewers about the fascinating ways bees work together and support the ecosystem around us."
Cramer said "All of the bee costumes featured at the festival were completely handmade and custom designed by me, specifically for the event. From the wings and headpieces to the intricate detailing and textures, every piece was created to capture the beauty, whimsy, and importance of bees while still feeling approachable and family-friendly. The costumes were designed not just as outfits, but as visual storytelling pieces that helped bring the educational and interactive experience to life.
"Seeing children and adults alike become genuinely excited about bees was incredibly rewarding. If we helped even a few people walk away with a greater appreciation for these amazing little creatures, then we accomplished exactly what we hoped to do."
The American Honey Bee Queen, Delanie Craighead, holds a bachelor’s degree in animal biology and a minor in veterinary medical entomology from UC Davis. She previously worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in South America. Craighead and Oceanna Escriban, the honey bee princess, are spending the year promoting the beekeeping industry at venues throughout the United States.
Bee scientist Elina Niño, professor UC Cooperative Extension, apicuture, and a member of the ENT faculty, is the founder-director of CAMBP and the Bee Health Hub. She serves as the director of The Haven, installed in the fall of 2019.
The California Honey Festival’s mission is to celebrate the importance of bees and to promote honey and honey bees and their products.
