Callington Honey Fair - its not just about the bees!

We came across this event as we have an interest in bee themed jewellery and support the environmental cause as the British honey bee has struggled lately.

Callington Honey Fair is one of the largest street fairs in Cornwall, with hundreds of people visiting the town to enjoy the one day event. The modern-day fair is held annually on the first Wednesday in October and each year has a unique theme. That same theme is used for the Shop Window Competition and the Children's Art Competition, which attracts entries from eleven primary schools in the region.

What happens?

As the only town in Cornwall that still retains a Honey Fair, the streets of Callington are given over to craft stalls, a town crier competition,  live music, a fun fair and those all important honey competitions. Always a friendly community event, many local charities and organisations participate and the town's churches join in with exhibitions.

‘Bee--‐sides’ the ever popular Cornwall Bee Keepers displays, with their live bees and honey products, there will be live music, street entertainment, the ever popular owl display, Children’s Art Competition (with over 800 entries), charity stalls and much, much more.

You can follow the trail of the Honey Fair Shop window displays, where the theme this year is ‘A Decade in our Queen’s Reign’.

It is not certain when Callington's Honey Fair was first established but in 1267, the town was granted a market charter by Henry III which gave permission for a weekly market and annual fair. Although towns in Wales have similar fairs dating back 700 years, it seems that the Callington Honey Fair was actually established in the latter half of the 19th century.

Here is some of our bee themed jewellery:

Save the Bees Brooch - shop here

Contemporary Queen Bee Necklace - shop here

Queen Bee Swirl Pin Brooch - shop here