Popular Honeybee Festival Has New Name, Venue
Cross Orchards Historical Farm to Host Colorado Honeybee Festival in April
PALISADE, COLORADO / ACCESS Newswire / January 21, 2026 /Colorado Honeybee Festival is the new name for the free local educational event, formerly known as the Palisade International Honeybee Festival (PIHF). The popular festival, which has educated the public on the importance of honeybees for the past 16 years, will continue at a new location, Cross Orchard Historical Farm in Grand Junction on Saturday, April 11, 2026, 10 am to 4 pm.
The governing board voted unanimously to make the move from Palisade to Cross Orchards at 3073 F Road (Patterson) as the festival has outgrown its original downtown Palisade venue. Additionally, the festival 's mission to educate the public about honeybees and other pollinators aligns perfectly with Cross Orchards ' agricultural heritage and educational programming.
"Our heart and base are still in Palisade," Coordinator Michelle Gossage reassures. "In fact, our 501(c)3 tax exempt status is unchanged. We will simply be doing business as the Colorado Honeybee Festival."
As she explains, there is an opportunity to involve other organizations in spreading the educational message about the importance of honeybees and other pollinators to the general public and specifically to students. While there are other honeybee festivals, they are mostly geared to beekeepers, beekeeping and the business side of operations.
"We will continue to focus on what individuals can do to help protect bees and other pollinators, emphasizing how vital they are to our agricultural economy, both locally and internationally," Gossage elaborates. Key elements of the Honeybee Festival will be the same, but will be staged in the new location.
As usual there will be live music, food vendors, lectures, a Bee Costume Contest, a Spelling Bee, and a large variety of vendor booths. In addition to offering on-site parking, the board has committed to providing bus service from key locations and will be publishing more information on traffic control and parking in the near future.
Vendors are encouraged to check the website at www.coloradohoneybeefest.org for more information on the festival and to sign up as a vendor. Registration opened on the website on Jan. 15, 2026.
"Success necessarily breeds change, so we urge all our patrons to come with us to Cross Orchards Farm. Our mission has not changed and we promise a wholesome, family-oriented free festival that visitors have known and loved so well," she concludes.
The governing board includes Gossage; Dan Bean, Palisade Insectary; Carol Zadrozny, Z 's Orchard; Glenn Foster, Meadery of the Rockies; Dixie Burmeister, media consultant; Jean Tally, Wine Country Inn and Grande River Vineyards; Bridgett Gutierrez, Ryan Sawyer Marketing; Laura Priddy, Mesa Park Fruit Co.; Ellen Scott, At Large, and Mollie Woodard, Western Colorado Beekeepers Association.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Call Bridgett Gutierrez
Ryan Sawyer Marketing
(970) 257-4583
OTHER RESOURCES:
Michell Gossage, Coordinator
P.O. Box 1105, Palisade, CO 81526
www.ColoradoHoneybee.com
coordinator@colordohoneybee.org
Mollie Shepardson, Cross Orchards Historical Farm
mshepardson@mowc.co
SOURCE:Colorado Honeybee Festival
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