The 9th Annual Mayland Black Jar Honey Contest has been rescheduled, and will be held Wednesday, Dec. 11,  6 p.m., at Homeplace Beer Co., Burnsville.  Although the recent storm washed out our scheduled contest last month, we have reorganized and the contest will be bigger than ever, we hope.

Toe Cane members are invited to enter your best 2024 HONEY in the contest as we have extended the deadline for entries to Monday, Dec. 9.  The entry form and instructions are here https://toecanebeekeepers.net/enter-your-honey/

Please enter and bring all your friends to pick the best tasting honey produced in Mitchell, Avery and Yancey Counties. This year it’s especially important for us to encourage support of beekeepers who have suffered from the storm. Funds raised will be used not only for club educational activities, but to aid beekeepers who have lost their homes, hives and property.  Local merchants have donated wonderful items for the Silent Auction, so come and bid on your favorites.  

We especially thank Homeplace and Hog Hollow Pizza for hosting us once again and scheduling the contest on their “Non-Profit Night” when a portion of beer proceeds will go toward helping our beekeeping community.

Members can enter honey free of charge, just put your labeled honey in 2 one-pound glass queenline jars and take them to the Yancey Extension Office along with your entry form. One jar will be raffled to raise funds, and the other will be entered in the contest. 

One additional two-jar entry is allowed for $15. The public is invited to taste all the honey entries free of charge.  A  $10 donation will allow you to be an official judge and cast a vote for your favorite.

So ENTER your honey, JUDGE which honey is your favorite, BID on raffle items, ENJOY food and drinks from Homeplace and Hog Hollow and SUPPORT our community as we rebuild and recover from the storm.