The Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan was a hive of activity on Saturday, August 13.  

More than 300 people visited the museum for its first-ever Honey Fair which featured displays from seven area beekeepers, along with organizations offering plants and information for property owners on how to preserve habitats for pollinating insects such as honeybees. 

There were also information sessions on honey and its uses. Linda Burgess of ‘Honey from The Glen’ in North Lancaster shared tips on cooking with honey. She explained the differences in the sweetness and consistency of honey from regular sugar. 

“There’s a higher level of sweetness in honey, right from the get-go,” Burgess said. 

Honey is sweeter and heavier than the refined white sugar most cooks use. 

Burgess said when baking with honey, it is advisable to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees because it will allow the item to cook more evenly. She said due to the extra sweetness of honey, replacing the amount of sugar the recipe requires with an equal amount of honey is also not recommended. 

Nickim Bee-Haven of South Glengarry has taken a unique approach to branding their honey. They call it Bee Barf, which honey sort of is! Beekeeper Kim Kubeck said bees basically spit out nectar with a few enzymes added, and that is honey. Kubeck’s nephew, Mathew Berniquer-Kubeck, had a role in coming up with the name. Nickim Bee-Haven also sells beeswax soap, produced by Louise Leblanc-Mazur. The most entertaining soap scent offered is called Monkey Farts. 

Pollinator houses to help insect habitats, and pollinator friendly plants were for sale by vendors at the Honey Fair, along with decorative beeswax candles. All of the regular Glengarry Pioneer Museum buildings and exhibits were open to visitors. 

“It was a stellar event,” said Jim Mullin, a member of the Honey Fair Committee and Glengarry Pioneer Museum volunteer. 

There was a friendly competition for the best liquid and creamed honey, but all participating apiaries received a prize. There was no first, second or third prizes but rather a series of cheekily named prizes such as “Un-BEE-lievable,” “BEE happy,” and “BEE sweet.” 

“A big thanks to all our producers who brought their wares here and were brave enough to enter this competition,” said Glengarry Pioneer Museum Board Chair Matt Williams. 

Anthony Campbell, and a few of the apiary’s bees represented McCaig Honey of Dalkeith at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum Honey Fair on August 13. Photo: James Morgan