Q&A with the Honey Buzztival's Jean Carroll

Everyone is buzzing about the Honey Buzztival. The event, hosted by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance and the Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market, will take place on Wednesday and will feature all things honey. 

Staff writer Krupa Kaneria spoke with Jean Carroll, the events coordinator for the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, about the history of the Honey Buzztival, its vendors and the importance of bees.

The Daily Tar Heel: Is this the first time an event like this is being hosted?

Jean Carroll: No, it's a yearly event. 

DTH: When was the Honey Buzztival started?

JC: I can’t tell you exactly, but this will be about the fifth or sixth year that our organization has hosted this event.

DTH: Is there a particular reason that this event started?

JC: It started just to highlight the local markets. It’s to highlight honey and honey products and also care for honeybees and how important they are to the environment.

DTH: What kinds of vendors will be at the event?

JC: We will have our regular farmers and a few food and lunch vendors. We will also have a couple of beekeepers out there showing their honey products, and different vendors will have honey tastings. Then, we will have a real beehive out there under glass. 

DTH: Are all of the vendors from the Triangle Area?

JC: Yes.

DTH: Do you look for certain vendors when you host an event like this?

JC: We go out and look for these vendors in this area. That is where we start and then we use word-of-mouth. 

DTH: Why is this event centered on honey?

JC: We have different events during the year and it is just something we wanted to highlight as a North Carolina product and highlight what some of our farmers do. 

DTH: Is the diminishing bee population a concern for vendors and the Honey Buzztival?

JC: It is! That is why they like to highlight this and the importance of honeybees for all of our vegetables and flowers. One of the vendors that we will have at the event is called Toxic Free NC. They teach people how to fertilize without synthetics or sprays.

DTH: Is this the only event your organization hosts that focuses on one kind of food?

JC: Well, we have different events. We have had events focused on flowers, we have had cheese, we have had tomatoes – which was called Tomatolicious. We have this event, which is focused on bees. We have different events throughout the year.

DTH: Is there a particular food that brings in a lot of people from the community?

JC: The Honey Buzztival is a really big one, but we also have a cheese event. On that day, we have a grilled cheese cook-off with some of our local chefs, and that brings a lot of people and they get to vote on the best grilled cheese. 

@krupakaneria

arts@dailytarheel.com