The 4th Annual Boston Tour de Hives will engage, educate and enchant you with a first-hand look at honeybees in hives across the city, and will be guided by the humans who tend them. On Saturday June 21st come celebrate the bees on this auspicious Summer Solstice during National Pollinator Week! Hives in North Cambridge, Fresh Pond, and Newton will be featured on this year’s tour, which you will visit by bicycle.
Highlights of this year’s tour include (not necessarily in this order)….
Site A: tending warre hives at an urban elementary school, chat with teachers
Site B: honeybees and fruit at an assisted living facility, speak with residents and their beekeeper
BYO PICNIC LUNCH: Featuring Commonwheels Bicycle Collective with a free DIY bike-maintenance skill share and Follow the Honey with a free honey tasting
Site C: backyard beekeeping, hear from a Newton family about their home honey production
Site D: Local bee-friendly flora and chemical-free practices at Fresh Pond Reservoir
We will gather together at John F. Kennedy Park in Cambridge at 9:00am (near the intersection of JFK Ave & Memorial Drive), divide into 4 groups and visit 2 local apiaries, convening as a large group for lunch before splitting off into 4 groups again for the final 2 sites. At each site, you will have the chance to hear from local beekeepers and meet their bees! The total ride will be ~15 miles, broken up by hive visits, snacks and lunch (no single leg will be longer than 5 miles).
Please bring a bag lunch, bicycle, helmet, and water bottle!
Don’t have a bike? No problem! Rent one from Urban AdvenTours at a discounted price of $20 when you mention Tour de Hives. A one-day, $20 rental is good for 24 hours. Bikes can be picked up on June 20th during UA’s store hours and dropped off after the Tour during their hours. UA is located at 103 Atlantic Ave Boston, MA 02110.
The registration fee of $20 covers snacks and an event T-shirt (organic & hand-printed by a local artist). Pre-register today if you want to be sure to get a spot on the tour (and a T-shirt)! While no one will bee denied TdH access for lack of funds, once we reach capacity we will regrettably have to close registration. Please contact us if the suggested registration fee of $20 is prohibitive for you. Any proceeds raised will bee reinvested in education & outreach initiatives by the Boston Area Beekeepers Association (formerly Boston Beekeepers Club).
Many thanks to this year’s Supporting Sponsors!
*Follow the Honey
*Ferris Wheels Bike Shop
*Boston’s Best Bees
*Maxant Honey Processing Equipment
*Moonlight Meadery
*Whole Foods
Our sponsors’ contributions include gift certificates that will be raffled off at lunch. As part of the registration cost, each registrant will receive one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets cost $2 each. You must purchase and enter your raffle tickets at registration, so plan to arrive early!
– Two “Romance Packages” from Moonlight Meadery
– One Broadway Bicycle School class
– Hubway one year membership
