The event will last almost all day – the program includes lectures, concerts, educational and creative workshops, a fair, and activities for children.
From honey sommelier to fair
The educational part of the festival will start at 11 a.m. The first lecture will be dedicated to organic beekeeping – Jolita Smaidrienė, founder of the organic apiary “Avilio istorijos” and a certified honey sommelier, will share ten years of experience and lessons learned.
At noon, Dr. Laima Blažytė-Čerškienė will talk about Lithuania’s dark honeybee, its significance to our natural heritage, and the necessity to preserve it. At 2:30 p.m., Dr. Algirdas Amšiejus will invite to the lecture “Bee products – food and medicine”.
However, beekeeping will not only be discussed at the festival. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., there will be a fair of bee products, culinary heritage, and folk art near the museum, and from 1 p.m., visitors will be welcomed by craft yards and creative and educational workshops.
“Bee Republic,” ancient rituals, and fresh honey
One of the more unusual moments of the celebration is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. – then the village hive, a symbol of the proclamation of the “Bee Republic,” will be unveiled. The ceremony will be attended by the ambassador of the “Bee Republic,” Arūnas Valinskas.
At 1 p.m., the official opening of the festival is planned on the museum’s outdoor stage, and shortly after, near Austėja’s barn, there will be a ceremony honoring bee deities and christening rituals. It will be led by Gailė Vanagienė, a priestess of the ancient Baltic religious community “Romuva” Šventaragis Romuva and an ethnologist.
Sweet lovers will await the “Honey Yard,” where from 3 to 3:30 p.m., the museum beekeeper Mindaugas Bridžius will demonstrate honey extraction in a glass honey extractor, invite to taste fresh museum bee honey, and together search for the queen bee.
Try everything from hollow tree beekeeping to wax ceramics
A large part of this year’s program is dedicated to activities that can be tried by participants themselves. At the festival, it will be possible to explore the flavors of Lithuanian honey with sensory analysis experts, get acquainted with innovative jewelry electrolysis workshops, and coffee and wax ceramics.
Guests from abroad will present their traditions – Polish hollow tree beekeepers “Bractwo Bartne” and representatives of the Latvian Beekeepers’ Union.
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Visitors will be able to learn more about hollow tree beekeeping, try plant dyeing, ethnonational education, blacksmithing, creating bee mandalas, molding clay bees, baking bread, and other ancient crafts. The program also includes a demonstration of mead brewing and tasting.
Activities for the whole family
A separate festival area will be dedicated to children and youth. At 11 a.m., there will be an education session “Secrets of Owls” with nature educator and ornithologist Ingrida Lagunaavičienė, and from 11 to 12:30 p.m., an introduction to the world of California worms.
From 1 p.m., musical creative workshops “Children’s Buzz” will be held, led by students of the Ignalina Art School. Until 6 p.m., the Craft Yard will also have a children and youth area with educator Paulius Briedis.
The day will end with music
The festival will not be limited to beekeeping and education. From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., a surprise concert is planned on the outdoor stage, and at 5 p.m., one of the brightest musical guests of the program will perform – the music group “Baltos varnos,” whose music blends nature motifs, folklore, and contemporary sounds.
According to Danutė Indrašienė, head of the Ancient Beekeeping Museum, as every year on the Assumption Day in Stripeikiai, it promises to be a day when beekeeping will reveal itself much more broadly than just honey extraction.
The festival “Catch the Swarm” will combine ancient traditions, science, crafts, music, and community – from preserving the dark honeybee to contemporary art and concerts.
The end-of-harvest festival “Catch the Swarm” will take place on August 15 at the Beekeeping Museum in Stripeikiai village, Ignalina district.
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