It only seems fitting that the “City That Never Sleeps” is host to a festival that honors the busiest of insects: the honeybee. Honey Week, which will be held September 8-14, is a weeklong, citywide festival that is part educational, part entertainment and a whole lot of delicious. The brainchild of Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farm in NYC, this event brings together a wide range of honey and bee related vendors (think urban beekeepers, chefs and artists) to educate us on the contributions honeybees make not only to our health, but to our planet.
Here are 5 things we love to do at NYC Honey Week 2014:
Visit A Beehive
Tours of Local Apiaries
Tuesday, September 9-Sunday, September 14
10:00am
Various locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens
Cost: FREE w/ RSVP (space is limited)
If you have ever wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look at the backyard (or rooftop or community garden) of a beekeeper, now is your chance. Visit live beehives and learn more about the world of honeybees. Some of the tours are more interactive than others, so contact individual tour hosts for more information. Click here for more details on the tours that will be available.
Enjoy A Cocktail
Queen Bee Cocktail Classic
Monday, September 8
8:00pm-10:00pm
NY Distilling Co
Cost: $48
What do you get when you mix local honey with regionally produced spirits? Something delicious. This event allows you to sample entries (and enjoy honey-influenced nibbles) from NYC’s best craft cocktail mavens as they compete for the tastiest honey-infused drinks.
Build A Costume
Busy Bee Costume-Building & Farm Visit
Wednesday, September 10
12:00pm-5:00pm
BLDG 92 in Brooklyn Navy Yard
63 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn
Cost: FREE w/ RSVP
Even if you are not the crafty type, you will want to bring your kids to this unique event where City Growers lead a bee costume-building session to outfit kids for Honey Fest’s Be-A-Bee Parade. When you are done costume building, head to the roof for a family-friendly farm tour and if you are there between 3-5pm, you can enjoy sweet honey treats from Myrtle Eats Fresh Community Chef Roisin Ford.
Cook Something Delicious
Hey Honey! with Rebekah Peppler
September 11
7:00pm-9:00pm
Haven’s Kitchen
109 W. 17th St.
Cost: $125
Rebekah Peppler, author of Honey, will lead you through a honey tasting to discover the diversity of flavors, textures and smells of this magical ingredient as well as teach you how to cook with honey in a variety of ways. Bonus: Class participants can take home a copy of Honey to put the cooking skills to good use.
Celebrate
Honey Fest
Saturday, September 13
11:00am-6:00pm
Rockaway Beach 97
97th & Ocean, Rockaway Beach
Cost: FREE
The culminating event of the week, this free, daylong festival features art, food, music, film, kids’ arts and crafts and a bee-product marketplace—it is the perfect way to celebrate the beauty of honey and the honeybee with your entire family. “Gather ye buds and enjoy the sunshine before autumn arrives by spending the day at the beach sampling the very best of NYC’s liquid gold.”
Talk to us: What is your favorite dish or cocktail made with honey?
image courtesy of flickr/BY CC 2.0