My wife and I traveled to Yale, Michigan early Saturday morning to run in the Bologna Festival 5k race, and on the way home decided it might be fun to visit the Michigan Honey Festival at the Eastern Michigan Fairgrounds in Imlay City. 

We weren't disappointed.  We had some fun and learned a lot about bees and beekeeping and additional uses for honey and other parts of bee hives.

We also got to sample several varieties of Mead, an alcoholic beverage derived from honey. 

The highlight of the event was watching a man build a "bee beard."  By attaching the queen of a hive to himself, the other bees will naturally gather around the queen.  With thousands of honeybees on his neck, head and shirt, he never once was stung.

I was able to get within a few feet of him and the open hive to take some pictures.  The bees didn't bother me, either. 

There was plenty of honey and honey products for sale, plus everything you might need to begin beekeeping yourself.  If I didn't live in the city, I would probably give it a try!

This was the first annual Michigan Honey Festival, and from what my wife and I experienced, I am pretty sure there will be a second annual next year.

For more information about the Honey Festival, visit http://www.michiganhoneyfestival.com/

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