The conference theme is “Putting the Bee in Boulder” and we are indeed! The first two days will be “Healthy Bee” and will focus on topics supporting bee health. The final day is “Bee Healthy” and is focused on bees and human health/interaction and will be a community celebration featuring the ABF’s “Kids and Bees” program as well as Matt Camper from CSU performing a “bee beard” (or two)! We have reached out to CU to change their “Be Boulder” theme to “Bee Boulder” for the occasion as well as to encourage CU students to support the conference.
The chosen weekend has also been declared Homecoming weekend by CU and we are absolutely delighted to have secured our lodging early on. The secured room rate is $159 per night. Rooms without the WAS rate are $249–if you can find them at all! PLEASE NOTE THAT ROOM PRICING IS VALID UNTIL AUGUST 31, 2015!!!!! Use code WAS2015 to make the reservation.
Don’t forget that the Denver International Airport is serviced by Southwest Airlines! Flying to Denver is an inexpensive proposition. I just did a search for tickets from Seattle ($220 RT), Portland ($175 RT), Phoenix ($180 RT), Salt Lake City ($200 RT), San Francisco ($300 RT), and Los Angeles ($200 RT). Not bad at all.
The hotel has a preferred shuttle service, Green Ride Boulder. Use the link to make your reservations for this convenient shuttle service.
The Oregon Ducks will be playing the CU Buffaloes and I should be in possession of 2 – 4 tickets for the game. I might even be willing to wager with those Oregon folks–but not a lot–given the state of the CU football program. We are planning on using the tickets as a promotional giveaway or silent auction item.
The conference pre-activities will start with National Honey Month. The National Honey Board (hopefully), Colorado State Beekeepers Association (CSBA), along with the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Merchants Association will be holding a honey craft cocktail contest with the winner being served at the Bee Buzz Social on Wednesday evening at the CU Museum of Natural History! The contest is still in the development phase with constant meetings occurring right now but I will keep you posted on how it all finally comes down. Suggestions? I’ll take ’em!
We have a full schedule of top-notch speakers. We also have something for everyone! If you are a beginner, we have education opportunities for you! If you are an intermediate/advanced beekeeper, then we have education opportunities for you! One of the things I really enjoyed about the MT conference were the talks on other subjects relating to bees–forage, other programs by folks helping bees/pollinators, etc. and we have thrown a few of them into the mix also. Speakers have all been secured at this time. We have speakers scheduled for both lunch and dinner, too. These events will be “first come-first serve” but we have allowed time for people to patronize nearby establishments if they “snooze and lose”.
On Sunday, we will be offering some additional tour options for WAS members. From Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours of Boulder to Rocky Mountain National Park from the Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver Botanic Gardens to the Celestial Seasonings tea tour, there will be an optional activity for everyone! Please stay tuned as we finalize the details on the tour plans but be prepared for a Sunday as filled with activity as the conference itself.
Click here to see the Conference Schedule Highlights.
WAS Vacancies
According to WAS bylaws, there are several committees that need members at this time. A description of the committees follows. Please contact me at president@westernapiculturalsociety.org or 970-213-3099 if you would like to serve on a committee.
New WAS Website
Last, the WAS website is under construction right now and we expect to have it up and running by the time you read this letter. All conference information will be on the site as will the ability to pre-register for events and activities. Check back frequently for updates and additional conference offerings.
I want to take the time to say thank you to our developer, Leslie Newman. She has been a pleasure to work with these past few months.