The weekend the Honey Bee Festival seemed to attract a swarm of people to Narrowsburg for the activities. The festival was just the excuse so many tourists needed to visit, while enjoying the colors Mother Nature provided. Speaking of colors, lots of black-and-yellow striped honey bees of all ages were spotted throughout town.

The day began with a parade in the morning, complete with fall- and bee-themed floats and stilt walkers towering over beautiful antique cars and trucks driven by smiling bees. People expressed their love and respect of the important bees by either dressing like a bee, or wearing a shirt with some sort of bee on the front, or merely dressing in yellow and black.

Honor was bestowed upon these threatened, industrious insects as visitors buzzed around sampling the many products made from their wonderfully sweet honey, or attended one of the lectures dedicated to their work of pollination and the important role bees play in nature. Locally we now see the benefits of pollination as we notice the abundance of apples and the heavy branches of the apple trees. The deer don’t even seem to be able to keep up with the production. Thank you, bees and other pollinator species.

At mid-afternoon Sullivan Renaissance officially unveiled a plaque at the post office dedicated to all those working to make our town so beautiful. As the day progressed, the streets filled with more and more visitors, many first-time visitors to Narrowsburg. We forget how beautiful we look, especially to first-time guests. Some seemed lured to the theatre just to see the inside of our early 20th century Art Deco Tusten Theatre. Some, noticing the beautiful flowers, commented on the works of the Narrowsburg Beautification Group. Clearly we are fortunate.

The efforts of those involved in the Honey Bee Festival seemed rewarded by a successful first-time event. The day was filled with a happy buzz all around town. Thank you, Honey Bee Festival organizers.