By CLAUDIA HARMON WORTHEN
May 1–Bring the whole family to the Bee, Butterfly & Bat Faire this Sunday, May 4, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. outdoors at the Cambria Historical Museum for a fun day of learning about nature and the creatures that sustain life.
Beautify Cambria’s pollination event is about sustaining life on earth, nurturing children’s curiosity, and the future: The solutions to climate change and waning human connections include getting kids away from the digital world and out in nature and into the garden.
This year the Bee, Bat, and Butterfly Faire is focused on kids with many opportunities to learn and do. Among the activities offered this year are a Scavenger Hunt in which kids visit various vendors to find answers to interesting questions about bees, butterflies and bats. Kids will be rewarded with a Star Wars prize. May the 4th Bee With You!
Kids can also make seed balls, a popular craft provided at past Faires. Another craft is making a plantable flowerpot and planting either seeds or a small plant to take home and nurture.
There will be face painting with magical artist Sarah Blair-Field, as she transforms children’s faces into likenesses of bees, butterflies and even bats. A sweet treat will be cupcake decorating with Once a Day Desserts who have generously donated cupcakes to the event. Beautify Cambria provides frosting and edible bees, bats and butterflies. There will be a small charge to cover the costs.
Activities that everyone can enjoy will be a live bee demonstration hive courtesy of botanist and beekeeper John Chesnut, who will share his portable hive. Solar Telescopes are also part of the festivities. The year 2025 is Solar Maximum, when the sun is at its height of activity. Flares, spots and protuberances should be visible.
For those interested in parks and gardens, Central Coast State Parks docents will talk about the preserved natural environment. Park souvenirs will be on sale. Mushroom compost and bee watering stations will be sponsored by Kirtz Excavating and Trucking; they harvest and sell mycelium compost. They are donating rocks and saucers to make watering stations for bees. Debra and John Scott will have strawberry plants and a variety of vegetables for sale for only a dollar.
Everyone’s favorite live bat, Stellaluna, will be back for her annual visit to the Faire, smiling with her cute toothy face. Music will be provided by Curti Creek Band for finger popping and toe tapping bluegrass and Americana. The Silent Auction is back and includesgifts for children. The raffle features a big basket of honey and bee-related items donated by Central Coast Beekeepers Alliance. As always, speakers on bees, bats and monarch butterflies will share fascinating facts for all ages. Have fun while learning at Beautify Cambria Association’s 9th Annual Bee, Bat, and Butterfly Faire.
For more information about Beautify Cambria Association and the Faire to: beautifycambria.org or contact: info@beautifycambria.org
Photo credit, Beautify Cambria, face art by Sarah Blair-Field (girl with face paint)
In answer to a Scavenger hunt question about where to find the best nectar, a young girl does her version of the honeybee Waggle Dance. Photo by Claudia Harmon
