Honey Creek Farm’s 1st Annual Honey Festival Brings Out Hundreds
What happens when a beekeeper brainstorms with a railway sustainability director? The creation of an Annual Honey Festival, naturally.
Thanks to a collaboration between Honey Creek Farm and Grand Canyon Railway, over 600 people came out to Williams, Arizona this past Saturday, August 15 to celebrate National Honey Bee Day. People ate and drank all things honey, learned about beekeeping, and proved that community shows up when there’s good food and good company involved.
Honey Creek Farm is a small-scale regenerative farm located along Airport Road, a couple blocks north of the I-40W as it runs through Williams. Farmer Rob Krombeen and his wife Sheila hosted the 1st Annual Honey Festival with support and sponsorship from the team at the Railway.
“The idea for the festival came about when Roy, the Sustainability Director at the Grand Canyon Railway, and I were thinking of ways to bring bees and sustainability to the community,” Rob explains. “We wanted to promote not only bees and honey, but also our shared interest in sustainability.”
Rob has been partnering with the Railway and its sustainability program for over a year by taking its food waste, transporting it to his farm and adding other local waste ingredients to provide compost for nearby homesteaders and small farms.
“Between the sustainability program, we have saved hundreds of tons of food waste from going into landfills,” says Rob.
Nearly 60% of the methane from landfills comes from decaying food waste, more than any other material. And landfills produce over 17% of total methane emissions in the U.S. Keeping all that food waste out of landfills matters.
Why promote bees? “Bees bring value,” states Rob. “They provide pollination for many plants and crops. There has also been research showing how the husbandry of bees helps reduce anxiety and with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder].”
Working in a stressful criminal justice career as a former police officer and now judge, Rob experiences first hand the calming effect of working with and caring for bees.
“Beekeeping requires focus. It requires attention. Moving more slowly. Being very present. Bees can sense when humans are calm. We are in a distraction world. Beekeeping can be mentally and physically rejuvenating. Bees are good for people.”
Fun fact: it takes about 2 million flower visits by bees to make a single pound of nutrient-dense honey. “So value that honey and the effort that went into producing it,” says Rob.
And that’s what the Honey Festival is dedicated to — showcasing all things honey. Rob jokes, “You won’t find corn dogs or deep-fried twinkies here.”
Housed under a large tent, the curated vendors come from the local area and offer handmade and homemade goods featuring — of course — local honey. People stroll among tables filled with cookies, breads, granola, mocktails, homemade kombucha, beeswax candles, chipotle honey dressing, and pinon beeswax salve. At the tent entrance, the Railway’s booth offer freebies, including a raffle for two free tickets to a round trip rail ride to/from the Grand Canyon.
It’s fitting that Honey is in the farm’s name. Their Annual Honey Festival is looking to be a staple in the community. There’s already talk that next year’s festival will spotlight more vendors, a food truck, live music, and other local beekeeper enthusiasts.
Until then, pop by the Honey Creek Farm Marketplace to stock up on unique products like six varieties of local honey, buttery HoneyCorn, homemade Jun Kombucha, sourdough cinnamon rolls, and a personal favorite- Sheila’s honey peanut butter rice crispie treat.
To visit The Marketplace
Location: 1015 N. Airport Rd., Williams, AZ 86046
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 7:30am - 6:30pm (Closed on Mondays)
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