Asheville sets Bee City USA events for June 14-22

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Here’s part of the long press release. Go to beecityusa.com for all the info:

Butterflies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds are among our best-known native pollinators. Most flowering plants (87%) depend on pollinators for successful reproduction. Since becoming the inaugural Bee City USA in June 2012, Asheville will meet the fifth standard for designation as a Bee City USA to: “annually celebrate Bee City USA designation with a proclamation and public events preferably during National Pollinator Week.” Pollination Celebration! is designed to be a reminder of the interconnection of the botanical world, the pollinators and us. The public is invited to attend various events June 14 – 22 in and around Asheville to delight and educate. Tupelo Honey Cafe is the leading sponsor. A schedule may be found at www.beecityusa.org/pollinator-week. …

Activities for children to help them make the connection between the rich array of foods we enjoy and the bees that pollinate them will begin on Friday, June 14. Ingles on Tunnel Road in Asheville will launch its Busy Bee Scavenger Hunts with children searching for foods pollinated by bees and prizes awarded. In collaboration with ASAP, Ingles also will offer samples on June 14 in the Tunnel Road store to showcase locally produced foods, including some made from locally-sourced honey like 12 Bones’ BBQ Sauce.

Asheville Pizza & Brewing will screen The Bee Movie cartoon for seven days starting June 14. Bee City USA will have bee antennae for sale and provide quizzes for kids to figure out what the movie got right or wrong about honeybees.

At 12:00 and 2:00 on Saturday, June 15 and 22, in addition to native and cultivated blueberry bushes for sale, Hop’N Blueberry Farm in Black Mountain will host tours centered on the monarch migration and the study of the butterfly’s magnificent life including seeing eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, and adult butterflies, and finally visiting the peaceful and beautiful butterfly flight house full of flowers and butterflies. Tickets $5.00 for children and adults.