Quick fair update, and does anyone have a chalkboard A-frame sign we can borrow?

[Rob Mathews, 2025 ACBA President]

Hi Folks! The building of the club booth for the Alameda County Fair is in progress. This year, it's been spread out over many days, instead of one big build.

Here's a couple of pictures from earlier this week (thanks Robin, Jamison and Heidi!), and we'll be installing live bees tomorrow (thanks Sung!).

The focus of the booth "decoration" this year is really the expanded live bees, so there's been more work behind-the-scenes. Many people offered to help if we needed it, which I appreciate, and I've taken some of you up on it... but if I haven't asked you personally for something, I think we're all set now -- except:

Does anyone have chalkboard "A frame" type sign like this that they can lend us?

We need something like this to write the times of the beekeeping demonstrations. I can pick it up. Just email me privately, thanks!

Finally, now's around the time I'm going to start feeling desperate for volunteers to staff the booth. If you haven't volunteered yet, please do so today. You get $35 worth of free fair admission and parking for volunteering less than three hours, and it's really fun. (If you volunteered in previous years, feel free to share your experience here so that people who are nervous about it can see what it's like!)

[michael fanfa]

Hello Rob,

as I have only been doing bees for about 15 months and am still a novice, what would be my duties be, should I decide to volunteer at the fair?

and what days do you have the most trouble with? my weekends are always full.

Cheers,

Michael Fanfa

On Jun 4, 2025, at 4:58 PM, Rob Mathews, 2025 ACBA President <r...@tigertech.com> wrote:

Hi Folks! The building of the club booth for the Alameda County Fair is in progress. This year, it's been spread out over many days, instead of one big build.

Here's a couple of pictures from earlier this week (thanks Robin, Jamison and Heidi!), and we'll be installing live bees tomorrow (thanks Sung!).

<Screenshot_20250604_134605_Photos.jpg>

<IMG_1911.jpeg>

The focus of the booth "decoration" this year is really the expanded live bees, so there's been more work behind-the-scenes. Many people offered to help if we needed it, which I appreciate, and I've taken some of you up on it... but if I haven't asked you personally for something, I think we're all set now -- except:

Does anyone have chalkboard "A frame" type sign like this that they can lend us?

<WebP Image.jpeg>

We need something like this to write the times of the beekeeping demonstrations. I can pick it up. Just email me privately, thanks!

Finally, now's around the time I'm going to start feeling desperate for volunteers to staff the booth. If you haven't volunteered yet, please do so today. You get $35 worth of free fair admission and parking for volunteering less than three hours, and it's really fun. (If you volunteered in previous years, feel free to share your experience here so that people who are nervous about it can see what it's like!)

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<IMG_1911.jpeg><WebP Image.jpeg><Screenshot_20250604_134605_Photos.jpg>

[Joan Houston]

Hi Michael. If you (or anyone feeling nervous about volunteering) want to pair up I'm available most weekdays to share a shift. I gotta stock up on my annual turkey legs 👍🏻

PS- my dear old mentor said you're only considered a newbie until you successfully overwinter your bees. It was one of my first big challenges as a beekeeper. Now I pay it forward 😊🐝

[Robert L Mathews]

Hi Michael and everyone!

First of all, you're 100% qualified. I was nervous the first time I volunteered for the fair because I thought that people would ask all sorts of complicated questions about bee biology, but as it turns out, that's not what happens at all.

One "job" is to just talk to people who say things like "I heard that bees are in trouble", or who ask "is that really honey in there?", or who want to tell you stories about growing up with a relative who was a beekeeper. It's much more casual than you'd expect. If people ask, there are brochures you can hand out that have some background on the club and gardening tips, etc.

If someone does ask a question you don't know the answer to, it's absolutely fine to say "I'm fairly new to this and I don't really know much about that part of it, that would be a great thing to search for on the Internet!" And we try hard to make sure there are two people there, so you can share the questions.

But the main thing that happens in the booth is that people, especially kids, will ask about the bees in the observation hive. You can help them find the queen, point out brood, and so on. This year we have little benches in the shade that people can sit on and look at the observation hive, and I think there will be even more people than usual just hanging around and chatting.

In short, I think everyone reading this can volunteer -- and more importantly, enjoy it. I hope you will!

On Jun 5, 2025, at 9:04 AM, michael fanfa <capt.sai...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Rob,

as I have only been doing bees for about 15 months and am still a novice, what would be my duties be, should I decide to volunteer at the fair?

and what days do you have the most trouble with? my weekends are always full.

Cheers,

Michael Fanfa

-- 

Robert L Mathews