We had another great year at the State Fair of Texas sharing the story of honey and the honey bee with so many people. The Fair started off with a big reception on Thursday night for the media and dignitaries involved with the Fair. The Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, Todd Staples, opened the event with a rousing welcome and challenge to tell the story of agriculture during the next 24 days. And we did!

With the help of over 100 volunteers, thousands of questions were answered, many of which started off with, "I have heard that if you ………". Many of the other questions were precipitated by the new large posters sharing some of the story of honey production in Texas, pollination facts and CCD.

This year, honey was the focus of presentations on the Gazebo Stage for four days. No other agricultural commodity had that much exposure on the stage. Burleson’s Honey in Waxahachie gave cooking with honey demonstrations on Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11. Your Honey Queens were on stage, Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19. Since the American Honey Queen, Rachael Seida, is from Texas, it was an all Texas Show. She was assisted by Collin County Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon and Collin County Honey Princess, Allison Adams. They enthralled the audiences with their tasty honey concoctions and their polished deliveries. It was a pleasure to watch them cast their spell.

The Honey Booth at the State Fair of Texas is the biggest showcase for TBA to tell the story of honey to the consumer. If you have not had the opportunity to contribute to the support of the honey booth, do it now. We are already preparing for the next Fair September 25 to October 18, 2009. It takes about $3500 per year to sustain the presence at the Fair.