# Event Details - **Event Name**: TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 27 May, 2026 at 10:00 am – Wed, 27 May, 2026 at 04:00 pm (-04:00) - **Event Description**: Jennifer Keller, NC State Apiculture Program Extension & Outreach Coordinator, will be the guest speaker at the Toe Cane Beekeepers Association’s meeting on Tuesday, May 26, and will host a hands-on workshop in the TCBA’s Educational Apiary at Mayland the following day, Wednesday the 27th. At the meeting, which is open to the public, Keller will address why beekeepers often panic and buy a new queen when they don’t have to. She will also focus on what beekeepers can do to rely less on outside resources to keep their apiary productive and growing. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. with a bee community social. Light refreshments will be served. The official meeting and presentation will start at 6:30 p.m. The all-day workshop on Wednesday will provide attendees with practical skills and a deeper understanding of bee biology and queen production while helping strengthen the long-term health and sustainability of their colonies. Topics will include colony development, bee biology, different approaches to queen rearing, recognizing properly aged larvae, swarm management, making splits, improving local bee genetics, and practical hive stewardship techniques to help every beekeeper better understand and manage their colonies. The workshop is limited to 20 attendees, and preregistration is required. Members attend for free, while non-members are required to pay $20 and will receive a free membership. Attendees who donate $50 or more will also receive a T-shirt. Participants should plan to be in the apiary from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and bring their own lunch, beverages, and bee suits. Keller has worked with Dr. David Tarpy’s NC State University research program since 2023, coordinating field research and working extensively in honey bee breeding and queen production. She spent 20 years as the apiculture technician for the program and was recently recognized as the recipient of the Roger A. Morse Award. The award is presented annually to an individual for outstanding contributions in apiculture teaching, extension, and regulatory service. The Toe Cane Beekeepers Association is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit promoting sustainable beekeeping practices in Mitchell, Avery, and Yancey counties. The association supports the beekeeping community by encouraging cooperation among local beekeepers and through hands-on training, mentoring, guest speakers, and classroom lectures. Click here to join or renew your membership. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wednesday, May 27, 2026 TCBA Educational Apiary at Mayland Community College 8207 US 19E Spruce Pine, NC 28777 Parking is limited; you may have to park up at the campus and walk down to the apiary. If you would like to make arrangements to be picked up at the campus and shuttled down, please call or text Ann and Camille at 828-678-0539 and 321-278-3674. Schedule: 10:00 – 10:30 a.m. — Gather and introductions 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. — Discussion on honey bee biology, colony life cycle, seasonal colony growth and management, queen rearing methods, Cloake board setup, timing schedules, and sustainable beekeeping practices for maintaining productive colonies 11:45 – 12:15 p.m. — Lunch Break (bring your own lunch) 12:15 – 1:00 p.m. — Hive inspections, evaluating colony condition, identifying properly aged larvae, and discussing brood patterns, nurse bees, and colony development 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. — Participant grafting practice and hands-on instruction 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. — Grafting bars for the starter colony, installation, and discussion of starter/finisher management, splits, and practical queen production techniques for small-scale beekeepers 3:00 – 4 p.m. — Questions & Answers covering queen rearing, colony management, swarm control, improving local genetics, and practical beekeeping topics for intermediate and advanced beekeepers Please Bring: • Bee suit and veil * Reading Glasses * LED flashlight for seeing larvae • Folding chair • Lunch and beverages • Something to write with and on • Weather-appropriate clothing and footwear for beekeeping Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early so we can begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. This will be a hands-on educational day in the apiary, and attendees of all experience levels should leave with a better understanding of bee biology, queen production, and sustainable colony management techniques — even if grafting queens is not currently part of your beekeeping plans. Please respond to this email with a brief description of how many colonies you manage, how many years you have sustained your apiary, and any previous classes, conferences, or seminars you have taken. In the event of bad weather, we will move indoors to a classroom at Mayland Community College. We look forward to spending the day learning together. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/spruce-pine/tcba-hands-on-with-jennifer-keller-at-the-tcba-educational-apiary/200030104800818 - **Event Categories**: workshops, meetups, health-wellness, nonprofit - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 11 ## Ticket Details ## Event venue details - **city**: Spruce Pine - **state**: NC - **country**: United States - **location**: 200 Mayland Dr, Spruce Pine, NC 28777-8434, United States - **lat**: 35.93434 - **long**: -82.01694 - **full address**: 200 Mayland Dr, Spruce Pine, NC 28777-8434, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/b14fac2b60bbb0e3a38274f80a60286f111176dfa754f58ef4062a6100347bdb-rimg-w768-h768-dc2d311b-gmir?v=1779493157 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary being held? - **A:** TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary takes place on Wed, 27 May, 2026 at 10:00 am to Wed, 27 May, 2026 at 04:00 pm at 200 Mayland Dr, Spruce Pine, NC 28777-8434, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary ? - **A:** TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary is organized by Toe Cane Beekeepers Assoc. - Mitchell, Avery & Yancey NC. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary is ideal for curious learners, students, and skill-builders looking to gain hands-on knowledge and practical expertise in a focused, interactive setting. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Spruce Pine, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "TCBA Hands on with Jennifer Keller at The TCBA Educational Apiary", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/b14fac2b60bbb0e3a38274f80a60286f111176dfa754f58ef4062a6100347bdb-rimg-w768-h768-dc2d311b-gmir?v=1779493157", "startDate": "2026-05-27T10:00:00-04:00", "endDate": "2026-05-27T16:00:00-04:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/spruce-pine/tcba-hands-on-with-jennifer-keller-at-the-tcba-educational-apiary/200030104800818", "eventStatus": "https://schema.org/EventScheduled", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "200 Mayland Dr, Spruce Pine, NC 28777-8434, United States", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "200 Mayland Dr, Spruce Pine, NC 28777-8434, United States", "addressLocality": "Spruce Pine", "addressRegion": "NC", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "35.93434", "longitude": "-82.01694" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Jennifer Keller, NC State Apiculture Program Extension & Outreach Coordinator, will be the guest speaker at the Toe Cane Beekeepers Association’s meeting on Tuesday, May 26, and will host a hands-on workshop in the TCBA’s Educational Apiary at Mayland the following day, Wednesday the 27th.\n\nAt t", "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Toe Cane Beekeepers Assoc. - Mitchell Avery & Yancey NC", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/toe-cane-beekeepers-assoc-mitchell-avery-and-yancey-nc/9359963", "description": "Beekeepers & Friends in Yancey & Mitchell County, NC ( Toe & Cane River Region). Meetings begin again in early 2016. " } ] } ] ```