Prairie Bee Meadery Offering Two New Tours
A new and unique tourist attraction is officially open.
And the hope is it will become a major hive of activity.
On Friday Prairie Bee Meadery officially opened two new tours to immerse visitors into the world of bees (honey making) and the production of mead.
Described by many naturalists as the backbone of life bees are not just social creatures with a well defined social structure but without their pollination of plants there would be a collapse of the food chain.
The tour Prairie Bee Meadery taps into the estimated 10,000 year history of people keeping bees for honey production.
The ribbon is cut and the attraction is now open - photo credit Fox Klein Moose Jaw Express/Moose Jaw Today
The other tour is about the production of mead.
Mead is the production of an alcoholic beverage by fermenting honey mixing it with water and often other ingredients for flavouring.
Producing mead is a craft that also goes back thousands of years.
It is this history plus Prairie Bee Meadery’s two new tours embraces and shows the public.
The family friendly Pollinator Pathway explores the relationship between humanity and its honey-producing partners, while the Honey Wine Highway details the history and process of mead making.
The tours allow visitors the opportunity where they can sit, sip and savour food and mead options, enjoy a self-guided or a guided tour.
Additionally guest have the opportunity to get creative in the crafting pavilion.
And although the keeping of bees and mead making have been around for thousands of years the tours offer an app based audio tour or treasure hunt.
The two tours are located on Prairie Bee Meadery’s farm located 20 kilometres west of Moose Jaw - in the Caron area - giving visitors an opportunity to look at the countryside.
It’s not just tourists who can experience the world of bees but also the newest attractions are open to schools as well. The tours are touted for their educational component.
The two tours are a major enhancement for the farm.
“We can now welcome schools and other groups in low-cost educational activities. We have a crafting pavilion where we can host other local artisans. We are drawing on technology to deliver on demand audio tours and treasure hunts through the Prairie Bee Meadery app in English (and eventually French). We will now have food and drink available for purchase onsite,” Crystal Milburn, co-owner and mead maker said.
The popular guided winery tours and sampling that people have enjoyed for the past several years are still being offered with new enhancements.
Prairie Bee Meadery’s journey began with a U-pick operation in 2012 and has grown to honey production where there is surplus honey to produce mead.
The meadery opened 2016.
The farming operation has also added a two acre plot seeded to native grasses and flowers for the bees to pollinate.
The two tours are possible with an $83,800 repayable contribution from PrairiesCan under the Tourism Growth Program.
For more information check out Prairie Bee Meadery’s website www.prairiebeemeadery.ca .