2018 Pollination Celebration!
Pollination Celebration, June 9th - 23rd, is a community-wide celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats, beetles, flies, and other species that help pollinate one out of every three bites of food you eat! About 90% of all wild plants and trees rely on pollinators for the survival of their species. Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems that clean our air, stabilize soils, and support other wildlife. Come out to our Pollination Celebration events to learn more about native pollinators, pollination, why we need pollinators, and how pollinators need your help!
Pollination Celebration is sponsored by Reems Creek Nursery and Duke Energy. Join the fun, learn a lot, and get actively involved with bringing back the pollinators by participating in the variety of Pollination Celebration activities being offered in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Keep up with the latest Pollination Celebration news by liking the Asheville GreenWorks Facebook page and the BeeCity USA Asheville Facebook page.
Pollination Celebration is sponsored by Reems Creek Nursery and Duke Energy. Join the fun, learn a lot, and get actively involved with bringing back the pollinators by participating in the variety of Pollination Celebration activities being offered in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Keep up with the latest Pollination Celebration news by liking the Asheville GreenWorks Facebook page and the BeeCity USA Asheville Facebook page.
POLLINATION CELEBRATION is proudly sponsored by:
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2018 Pollination Celebration Events:
Black Jar: Asheville's Annual International Honey Tasting and Cocktail Event
Tuesday, June 5th @ 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Presented by the Center for Honeybee Research
Beekeepers from all over the world submit their honey samples for judging. Since the taste of honey varies from the different regions around the world, all the honeys taste different. 30 worldwide varieties of honey go through taste tests and you can be part of the public judging! At this event you can taste all the honeys, listen to some great live music, dance and enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres. Come learn more about bees, their importance in the environment, and how you can help. Check out the event website!
Audience: Adults
Cost: $35 cocktail event, $50 cocktail event + honey judging
Location: Renaissance Hotel, 31 Woodfin St, Asheville, NC 28801
Tuesday, June 5th @ 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Presented by the Center for Honeybee Research
Beekeepers from all over the world submit their honey samples for judging. Since the taste of honey varies from the different regions around the world, all the honeys taste different. 30 worldwide varieties of honey go through taste tests and you can be part of the public judging! At this event you can taste all the honeys, listen to some great live music, dance and enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres. Come learn more about bees, their importance in the environment, and how you can help. Check out the event website!
Audience: Adults
Cost: $35 cocktail event, $50 cocktail event + honey judging
Location: Renaissance Hotel, 31 Woodfin St, Asheville, NC 28801
POLLINATOR SAFARI
Saturday, June 9th @ 10:00:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Presented by Reems Creek Nursery
Kick off Bee City-Asheville’s POLLINATION CELEBRATION at Reems Creek Nursery on Saturday, June 9. All ages invited! We will start the POLLINATOR SAFARI with a Pollinator Craft, and once we are BUZZZING with bee-ness, we will take a walk-about to discover flowers and pollinators and learn a little bit about what makes these pollinators special. Weather permitting; we’ll have an egg hunt for monarch butterfly babies. Refreshments and door prizes too. Free, but please RSVP at the Garden Center or call 828-645-3937. Check out Reems Creek's Facebook Event!
Audience: All ages
Cost: Free!
Location: 76 Monticello Road, Weaverville, NC 28787
Saturday, June 9th @ 10:00:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Presented by Reems Creek Nursery
Kick off Bee City-Asheville’s POLLINATION CELEBRATION at Reems Creek Nursery on Saturday, June 9. All ages invited! We will start the POLLINATOR SAFARI with a Pollinator Craft, and once we are BUZZZING with bee-ness, we will take a walk-about to discover flowers and pollinators and learn a little bit about what makes these pollinators special. Weather permitting; we’ll have an egg hunt for monarch butterfly babies. Refreshments and door prizes too. Free, but please RSVP at the Garden Center or call 828-645-3937. Check out Reems Creek's Facebook Event!
Audience: All ages
Cost: Free!
Location: 76 Monticello Road, Weaverville, NC 28787
GreenWorks' Garden Tour
Saturday, June 16th, @ 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Presented by Asheville GreenWorks
Asheville GreenWorks’ Garden Tour will provide ticket-holders access to nine private gardens of the Historic Montford Neighborhood. Each unique garden landscape will stimulate the senses with sights and scents in abundance. As part of Pollination Celebration Week, this year’s Garden Tour highlights native pollinator plants that attract birds, bees, butterflies and bats, among others. Self-guided driving tour begins at 9:30AM. Proceeds benefit GreenWorks’ pollinator education and planting programs. Purchase ticket here!
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for members
Location: Isaac Dickson Elementary School, 125 Hill Street, Asheville 28801.
Saturday, June 16th, @ 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Presented by Asheville GreenWorks
Asheville GreenWorks’ Garden Tour will provide ticket-holders access to nine private gardens of the Historic Montford Neighborhood. Each unique garden landscape will stimulate the senses with sights and scents in abundance. As part of Pollination Celebration Week, this year’s Garden Tour highlights native pollinator plants that attract birds, bees, butterflies and bats, among others. Self-guided driving tour begins at 9:30AM. Proceeds benefit GreenWorks’ pollinator education and planting programs. Purchase ticket here!
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for members
Location: Isaac Dickson Elementary School, 125 Hill Street, Asheville 28801.
Pollination Celebration Ice Cream!
Saturday, June 16th - 23rd
Presented by The Hop Ice Cream Cafe
The Hop is getting "buzzy" with a special Pollination Celebration ice cream flavor with local honey cream base with local flower petals (borage and pansies) swirled in.
Saturday, June 16th - 23rd
Presented by The Hop Ice Cream Cafe
The Hop is getting "buzzy" with a special Pollination Celebration ice cream flavor with local honey cream base with local flower petals (borage and pansies) swirled in.
Pink Beds BioBlitz
Saturday, June 16th @ 9:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Presented by Cradle of Forestry
The Pink Beds BioBlitz is a citizen science project at the Cradle of Forestry in America Heritage Site with the goal of identifying all the species of flora and fauna in the Pink Beds valley. Just observe, snap a photo, and upload it to your iNaturalist account. The day and well into the evening is full of citizen science activities, wildlife surveying demonstrations, and a BioBlitz walk at 1:00. No prior registration is required. https://cradleofforestry.com/event/pink-beds-bioblitz/
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Free
Location: 11250 Pisgah Highway Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
Saturday, June 16th @ 9:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Presented by Cradle of Forestry
The Pink Beds BioBlitz is a citizen science project at the Cradle of Forestry in America Heritage Site with the goal of identifying all the species of flora and fauna in the Pink Beds valley. Just observe, snap a photo, and upload it to your iNaturalist account. The day and well into the evening is full of citizen science activities, wildlife surveying demonstrations, and a BioBlitz walk at 1:00. No prior registration is required. https://cradleofforestry.com/event/pink-beds-bioblitz/
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Free
Location: 11250 Pisgah Highway Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
Power of Pollination
Monday, June 18th @ 2:00 PM- 3:00 PM
Presented by The West Asheville Library and Asheville GreenWorks
GreenWorks' and West Asheville Library are partnering during Pollination Celebration Week to celebrate bees, butterflies, flies and beetles that are responsible for pollinating one out of every three bites of food! Come learn about the importance of pollinators followed with a take-home bee hotel craft.
Audience: Children of all ages
Cost: Free
Location: West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Rd, Asheville 28806.
Monday, June 18th @ 2:00 PM- 3:00 PM
Presented by The West Asheville Library and Asheville GreenWorks
GreenWorks' and West Asheville Library are partnering during Pollination Celebration Week to celebrate bees, butterflies, flies and beetles that are responsible for pollinating one out of every three bites of food! Come learn about the importance of pollinators followed with a take-home bee hotel craft.
Audience: Children of all ages
Cost: Free
Location: West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Rd, Asheville 28806.
Pollinator Party!
Tuesday, June 19th @ 9 AM - 12 noon
Presented by: U.S. Forest Service and Buncombe County Extension Master Gardeners
Come celebrate National Pollinator Week with us! We'll have something for everyone - gardeners, children, nature enthusiasts, plant geeks, and friends of bees. Activities include crafts, a speaker, bee identification, and information tables. We'll also have free milkweed seeds while supplies last. Our garden feeds the bees with almost 50 native flowering species. How many will be in bloom when you visit?
Groups of 10 or more please RSVP to Sarah Farmer at sfarmer02@fs.fed.us. If you or a member of your group has any special needs please RSVP so we can be ready to welcome you.
Audience: gardeners, pollinator enthusiasts, children, citizen scientists.
Cost: Free
Registration: N/A
Location: U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station, 200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard, Asheville NC
Pollinator Friendly Landscape Tour
Tuesday, June 19th @ 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Presented by New Belgium Brewing
Join New Belgium for an outdoor walk learning how the brewery incorporated pollinator friendly plants into the design of the landscape. We’ll identify various plant species and be on the lookout for butterflies, bees, beetles and other pollinators. Please meet at the Liquid Center.
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Free
Registration: Required and space is limited to 25. Please RSVP Here!
Location: New Belgium Liquid Center: 21 Craven Street, Asheville, NC 28806
Tuesday, June 19th @ 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Presented by New Belgium Brewing
Join New Belgium for an outdoor walk learning how the brewery incorporated pollinator friendly plants into the design of the landscape. We’ll identify various plant species and be on the lookout for butterflies, bees, beetles and other pollinators. Please meet at the Liquid Center.
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Free
Registration: Required and space is limited to 25. Please RSVP Here!
Location: New Belgium Liquid Center: 21 Craven Street, Asheville, NC 28806
The Birds and the Bees: Why Pollinators Matter
Tuesday, June 19th @ 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Presented by Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society
Phyllis Stiles, founder and director of Bee City USA, will present a program on the importance of pollinators to birds and the ecosystems they inhabit. Birders know moths and butterflies supply caterpillars eaten by most hungry baby birds and there would be few seeds to feed adult birds without pollinators. But do birders fully understand why pollinators are declining globally and what more than one hundred Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates are doing to reverse these declines? Ornamental landscapes are key!
Audience: All ages
Cost: FREE
Location: UNC Asheville's Reuter Center, Asheville, NC 28804
Tuesday, June 19th @ 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Presented by Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society
Phyllis Stiles, founder and director of Bee City USA, will present a program on the importance of pollinators to birds and the ecosystems they inhabit. Birders know moths and butterflies supply caterpillars eaten by most hungry baby birds and there would be few seeds to feed adult birds without pollinators. But do birders fully understand why pollinators are declining globally and what more than one hundred Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates are doing to reverse these declines? Ornamental landscapes are key!
Audience: All ages
Cost: FREE
Location: UNC Asheville's Reuter Center, Asheville, NC 28804
The Guardians Movie benefiting Bee City USA Asheville
Wednesday, June 20th @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Presented by the Grail Moviehouse and Asheville GreenWorks
Join GreenWorks and the Grail Moviehouse for an exciting new documentary film called The Guardians, which monarch ecologist Dr. Lincoln Brower calls "an eye-opener for conservation advocates."
A visually dazzling meditation on the balance between human and nature, The Guardians poetically interweaves the lives of the threatened monarch butterfly with an indigenous community fighting to restore the forest they nearly destroyed. Migrating 3,000 miles to hibernate in towering Oyamels, the monarch population faces collapse. When the directors started filming The Guardians in 2014, the monarch population hit an all-time record low of 33 million, down from 1 billion just twenty years prior. In the valley below, the people of Donaciano Ojeda struggle to support their families in their ancestral lands now part of the protected Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Santos, a charismatic avocado farmer and Aristeo, a philosophical tree caretaker are the storytellers of the community as they confront internal divisions, illegal loggers and their own mortality. Shot over three years, this cinematic journey through the butterfly dense mountaintops of Michoacan tells an intimate story of a unique community at the front lines of conservation.
Mexican poet and conservationist Homero Aridjis describes it as "a moving and compelling portrayal that brings home the confrontation between those who want to preserve the monarch butterfly forest and those who would destroy it for short-term gains." A portion of the ticket sales benefit Bee City USA Asheville. Purchase tickets HERE!
http://www.theguardiansfilm.com/
Audience: All ages
Cost: $10.00
Location: The Grailhouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave
Wednesday, June 20th @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Presented by the Grail Moviehouse and Asheville GreenWorks
Join GreenWorks and the Grail Moviehouse for an exciting new documentary film called The Guardians, which monarch ecologist Dr. Lincoln Brower calls "an eye-opener for conservation advocates."
A visually dazzling meditation on the balance between human and nature, The Guardians poetically interweaves the lives of the threatened monarch butterfly with an indigenous community fighting to restore the forest they nearly destroyed. Migrating 3,000 miles to hibernate in towering Oyamels, the monarch population faces collapse. When the directors started filming The Guardians in 2014, the monarch population hit an all-time record low of 33 million, down from 1 billion just twenty years prior. In the valley below, the people of Donaciano Ojeda struggle to support their families in their ancestral lands now part of the protected Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Santos, a charismatic avocado farmer and Aristeo, a philosophical tree caretaker are the storytellers of the community as they confront internal divisions, illegal loggers and their own mortality. Shot over three years, this cinematic journey through the butterfly dense mountaintops of Michoacan tells an intimate story of a unique community at the front lines of conservation.
Mexican poet and conservationist Homero Aridjis describes it as "a moving and compelling portrayal that brings home the confrontation between those who want to preserve the monarch butterfly forest and those who would destroy it for short-term gains." A portion of the ticket sales benefit Bee City USA Asheville. Purchase tickets HERE!
http://www.theguardiansfilm.com/
Audience: All ages
Cost: $10.00
Location: The Grailhouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave
Pollinator Book Club: Let’s Talk Flies
Thursday, June 21 @ 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Presented by naturalist Heather Rayburn
Put down your fly swat and join naturalist Heather Rayburn as she hosts a special book club meeting at her home in Five Points, just north of downtown, to discuss The Secret Life of Flies by entomologist Erica McAlister.
We’ll explore the world of the fly; review the book’s highlights; and enjoy some refreshments from the Owl Bakery. If the weather cooperates, Heather will take you on a tour of her native plant garden and show you how she’s gardening for wildlife.
After reading McAlister’s The Secret Life of Flies, you will look at the fly in a whole new and much more appreciative light. For instance, did you know that flies are the ONLY pollinator of the plant that gives us chocolate? That bee-mimicking hover flies rank "second only to solitary bees and bumblebees in their value as commercial pollinators"? Bees get so much of the spotlight, but let’s give flies their due.
Copies of The Secret Life of Flies are available for purchase at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville’s Visitor Center at 151 W.T. Weaver Boulevard, where Heather spent 10.5 years running the office and coordinating volunteers. She also has a website called MonarchLover.org, where she writes about native plant gardening. Call Heather at 828-251-5484 to register and get directions.
Audience: Adults
Cost: Free
Register: Call Heather at 828-251-5484
Thursday, June 21 @ 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Presented by naturalist Heather Rayburn
Put down your fly swat and join naturalist Heather Rayburn as she hosts a special book club meeting at her home in Five Points, just north of downtown, to discuss The Secret Life of Flies by entomologist Erica McAlister.
We’ll explore the world of the fly; review the book’s highlights; and enjoy some refreshments from the Owl Bakery. If the weather cooperates, Heather will take you on a tour of her native plant garden and show you how she’s gardening for wildlife.
After reading McAlister’s The Secret Life of Flies, you will look at the fly in a whole new and much more appreciative light. For instance, did you know that flies are the ONLY pollinator of the plant that gives us chocolate? That bee-mimicking hover flies rank "second only to solitary bees and bumblebees in their value as commercial pollinators"? Bees get so much of the spotlight, but let’s give flies their due.
Copies of The Secret Life of Flies are available for purchase at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville’s Visitor Center at 151 W.T. Weaver Boulevard, where Heather spent 10.5 years running the office and coordinating volunteers. She also has a website called MonarchLover.org, where she writes about native plant gardening. Call Heather at 828-251-5484 to register and get directions.
Audience: Adults
Cost: Free
Register: Call Heather at 828-251-5484
Magic of the Honeybee
Friday, June 22nd from 1 - 2:30 (cookie decorating Noon - 4pm)
Presented by Wild Mountain Bees
Join magical beekeeper Sarah McKinney for a free talk at Wild Mountain Bees! Whether a beekeeper or not, come learn about the importance of pollinators for our food and ecosystems. All are welcome - talk from 1-2pm and Q&A from 2-2:30. There will also be a pollinator cookie decorating that from 12-4pm.
Audience: All ages!
Cost: Free
Location: 9412, 23 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville, NC 28787
Friday, June 22nd from 1 - 2:30 (cookie decorating Noon - 4pm)
Presented by Wild Mountain Bees
Join magical beekeeper Sarah McKinney for a free talk at Wild Mountain Bees! Whether a beekeeper or not, come learn about the importance of pollinators for our food and ecosystems. All are welcome - talk from 1-2pm and Q&A from 2-2:30. There will also be a pollinator cookie decorating that from 12-4pm.
Audience: All ages!
Cost: Free
Location: 9412, 23 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville, NC 28787
Carolina Native Nursery Tour and Week Long Benefit Plant Sale
Friday, June 22nd @ 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Presented by Carolina Native Nursery
Please join one of the staff horticulturist at Carolina Native Nursery to learn more about native plants. We will show you how we grow native azaleas and many plants from seed, wander around the nursery and learn more about many of the plants here. Plus our retail area will be open. 15% of all retail sales during the 2018 Pollinator Celebration will go to Bee City! Please come out to the nursery and buy native plants. With over 200 species available, Carolina Native Nursery is your only local connection for native plants.
The Retail Center will be open all day, from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Stocked with plants grown on site, our expert staff will be on hand to hear all about your garden, your needs, and make suggestions about which natives will best succeed. Our staff has decades worth of experience and is the most knowledgeable when it comes to natives of our region. And remember that 15% of sales will go back to GreenWorks for Bee City USA - Asheville.
Audience: Anyone interested!
Cost: Free to enter, 15% of sales will go to Bee City USA - Asheville.
Location: Carolina Native Nursery, 1639 Prices Creek Rd., Burnsville, NC 28714
For more information call 828-682-1471 or visit www.carolinanativenursery.com
Friday, June 22nd @ 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Presented by Carolina Native Nursery
Please join one of the staff horticulturist at Carolina Native Nursery to learn more about native plants. We will show you how we grow native azaleas and many plants from seed, wander around the nursery and learn more about many of the plants here. Plus our retail area will be open. 15% of all retail sales during the 2018 Pollinator Celebration will go to Bee City! Please come out to the nursery and buy native plants. With over 200 species available, Carolina Native Nursery is your only local connection for native plants.
The Retail Center will be open all day, from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Stocked with plants grown on site, our expert staff will be on hand to hear all about your garden, your needs, and make suggestions about which natives will best succeed. Our staff has decades worth of experience and is the most knowledgeable when it comes to natives of our region. And remember that 15% of sales will go back to GreenWorks for Bee City USA - Asheville.
Audience: Anyone interested!
Cost: Free to enter, 15% of sales will go to Bee City USA - Asheville.
Location: Carolina Native Nursery, 1639 Prices Creek Rd., Burnsville, NC 28714
For more information call 828-682-1471 or visit www.carolinanativenursery.com
Pollination Celebration at PercCollider
Friday, June 22nd @ 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Presented by The Collider
The PercCollider is for Collider members, guests, and friends to "collide," connect and collaborate over beer and pretzels. Bee City USA Asheville will speak about their work and accomplishments.
Audience: Adults
Cost: Free
Location: The Collider, 1 Haywood St, Asheville, NC, 28801
Friday, June 22nd @ 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Presented by The Collider
The PercCollider is for Collider members, guests, and friends to "collide," connect and collaborate over beer and pretzels. Bee City USA Asheville will speak about their work and accomplishments.
Audience: Adults
Cost: Free
Location: The Collider, 1 Haywood St, Asheville, NC, 28801
Bug Day & National Pollinator Week Celebration
Saturday, June 23rd @ 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Presented by The Cradle of Forestry
The Cradle of Forestry in America Heritage is celebrating the diversity of pollinators in Pisgah National Forest, and any other bugs we may find throughout the day. Crafts, activities, and special guided walks are offered. No registration is required for this event. https://cradleofforestry.com/event/bug-day/
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Free
Registration: None
Saturday, June 23rd @ 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Presented by The Cradle of Forestry
The Cradle of Forestry in America Heritage is celebrating the diversity of pollinators in Pisgah National Forest, and any other bugs we may find throughout the day. Crafts, activities, and special guided walks are offered. No registration is required for this event. https://cradleofforestry.com/event/bug-day/
Audience: All Ages
Cost: Free
Registration: None
Check out our neighbors, Bee City USA Hendersonville for more local events in WNC!
