Events

Greenfield Bee Fest 2022

Downtown Greenfield, Massachusetts

This year, Greenfield Bee Fest activities are smaller by design and/or are offered virtually in accordance with current Covid-related safety protocols. Stay safe, and enjoy!

Saturday, May 7th Crosswalk Painting, 12:30pm

Volunteer painters, come one, come all! We will be freshening up the Bee crosswalk at the Town Common, with paint donated by the Greenfield Sherwin-Williams Store. Rain date is May 14th.

Friday, May 20th World Bee Day

6:30 – 7:30pm BeeLines - art installation by Exploded View artists at Pushkin Gallery, Main Street

6:30 – 8:00pm Bee Fest Bingo & Trivia Night on Zoom, Friday May 20th. Bring your Bingo card and follow along — everyone is a winner! For more info, please contact the Second Congregational Church of Greenfield office at 413-774-4355

Saturday May 21st Greenfield Bee Fest Activities

8am – 12noon Greenfield Famers Market – featuring honey and pollinator plants for sale.

9am – 12noon Children’s activities – Second Congregational Church Lawn

(Adults must remain with their children)

Dress as a bee, flower, or butterfly–or in yellow & black, make crowns & wands at Bee Fest!
Bee Crafty-Make Bee Wands, Bee Crowns, and paint Bee Rocks.
Bee Games–0ld-timey, classic children’s games with a bee theme
Find Queen Bee- Check out the live demo hive from Franklin Co Beekeepers.
Honeybee Tea Party, hosted by Kay Lyons and the Massachusetts Honey Ambassador, serving lemonade, blueberries, and honey graham crackers.
Pollinator Parade, led by our HUGE Queen Bee and the Expandable Brass Band, around the Common and Farmers’ Market – 11am
Bee Pinata–take a swing at breaking the pinata, and take home a “FreeBee” gift bag – 11:15am
Birthday Cake–Celebrate Lorenzo Langstroth 212th birthday – 11:30am

9am – 12noon Bee Bazaar-We’ve assembled the most unique, fun, practical and outrageous bee gifts you’ve ever seen! This is the largest collection of everything-bee-and-honey in one place, all donated by businesses to support Greenfield Bee Fest. We’ll also have bee-themed baskets available and will be running silent auction that includes some rare finds! Scroll down the page to see some of the items.

9:00am – 12noon FREE pollinator plants, while they last – courtesy of Pioneer Gardens, Deerfield

9:00 – 11:30am FREE Refreshments: Magpie honey pie pizza, popcorn, and green honey tea.

9:30 – 10:15am Bee Educated-side lawn of Second Congregational Church

Franklin County Beekeepers Association – Beekeeping 101, 9:30am

Kim Skrym, Massachusetts Chief Apiarist, 10am

10:00am – 7:30pm Bee Lines: an installation by Exploded View artists at Pushkin Gallery

https://www.hawksandreed.com/event/bee-lines-an-installation-by-exploded-view/

10:15am – 12:30pm Expandable Brass Band in yellow and black costumes: playing on the church lawn, leading the Pollinator Parade, and playing for the unveilings of the three new Bee sculptures.

11:50am Announce Bee Basket and Silent Auction winners

12:00 Unveiling of three new Bee sculptures

Movie Bee - Garden Theater
Book Bee, “Take Flight Through Reading”– Library
Quilting Bee - Federal Street side of Greenfield Savings Bank

12:45 – 4:00pm Open House at Greenfield’s Hive Makerspace, 231 Main Street, second floor, above The Greenfield Gallery (enter through the gallery) – a community workshop where people can come to make things and work together, using the tools of creation. Come see what it’s all about!

3:00pm St. James and Andrew Episcopal Church, 8 Church Street, will host a blessing of their pollinator garden, followed by a conversation about gardens, walking of the labyrinth, and tea with honey cakes.

6:00 – 9:00pm Trance – a Journey of Music with John Sheldon at Hawks & Reed https://www.hawksandreed.com/event/trance-a-journey-of-music-with-john-sheldon-at-hawks-and-reed/

8pm Ali McGuirk with the Mary Jane Jones at Hawks & Reed

Sunday, May 22nd

4pm – To Bee or Not to Bee – Piti Theatre Company, based in nearby Shelburne Falls, is pleased to offer the virtual version of their award-winning, internationally acclaimed pollinator fable, "To Bee or Not to Bee." Go to To Bee or Not To Bee - Piti Theatre Company (ptco.org) for FREE to celebrate Greenfield Bee Fest. Get the whole family inspired to plant pollinator-friendly seeds, support organic and local farming, and who knows – maybe become backyard beekeepers! The virtual version can be viewed anytime on Sunday, May 22nd. Just register below and you will receive the link and password for viewing that day. If you like the show, please consider bringing the live and/or virtual version to your community.

Get Tickets

Download the FREE Bee Fest Promenade at Apple or Android, a GPS-guided tour created by Eggtooth Productions, that will take you to multiple bee-related sights and historical markers around Greenfield. Bring a pair of earphones for the best experience.

Check out the Pocket Park on the Bank Row side of the parking garage for more information about Rev. Langstroth, the Father of Modern Beekeeping.

Support the sponsors of our Lamppost Bees which you can see throughout Downtown Greenfield

Also Happening Around Town

It’s Bee Week at Innovintage Place, 76 Hope Street, Greenfield, MA, where we will be BEE-focused from Thursday, May 19 to Sunday, May 22. Check us out at www.facebook.com/innovintage/

Also check out the beautiful flowers and great collection of bee-themed items at Floral Affairs, 324 Deerfield Street, Greenfield, MA.

From now until May 21 Take a chance on a Luxury Bee Picnic Basket valued at over $350, featured in the front window of Ryan and Casey Liquors (pictured left), 55 Main St. Greenfield. Tickets are only $10 each, purchased in the store. Drawing will be May 21st at 3pm.

May 20—22 Antique Revival and Collectibles, located at 186 Main Street, Greenfield, MA 01301, will do a bee-themed window display and will have a sale going on that weekend. Check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/322deerfieldstgfld/

May 21 Magnificent Bee-ings at The Center for Spiritual Imagination, 479 Main Street, Greenfield, 9:30-11am. Read selections from Sue Monk Kidd’s book The Secret Life of Bees as inspiration for the creation of your own bee icons. Suitable for age 12 and up. Pre-registration would be helpful but is not necessary: artandsoul.wm@gmail.com or 413-348-2385. FREE of charge.

May 21, 11am Garden Cinema - Come see a FREE showing of Bears and Bees starring Yogi Bear at 11am, followed by the 12noon unveiling of the new "Movie Bee" in front of the GARDEN theater. Then start the walking tour to see the three new bee statues in Greenfield.

May 21 , 11am-3pm The Greenfield Historical Society, 43 Church Street, will feature the box beehive patented in 1851 by Greenfield's Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth. Come see it, and much more!

May 23 - 7 to 8pm “The Secret Life of Bees” movie discussion group will take place on Zoom as part of Second Congregational Church’s Faith and Film series. For more info and/or to sign up, please call our office at 413-774-4355.

Bee Bazaar Highlight – One-stop shopping for all your bee-themed gifts. All items have been donated – over $3,000 in value – to help raise funds for Bee Fest. Only open from 9am-12noon at the event on May 21st

Buy bee swag
Take a chance on a Bee Basket; ticket pulled at 11:55am
Silent Auction Items; bidding open until 11:45am; announcements made at noon

Choose from: honey skin care products, silverware with bees and honeycomb, bee napkin rings, placemats & coasters, a beautifully embossed leather journal, high design tee-shirts, bee plate, bee thermometer, necklace and other bee jewelry and much more!

Just a few of the 100+ Silent Auction, Bee Basket and purchases you can make:

Hand blown glass ornaments value $20-$24 each. Will sell for $10 each