Please join the New River Valley Beekeepers Association for the annual beekeeper picnic and monster raffle to celebrate another year with the bees and the association.

We will gather at Nellie’s Cave Park (photos and park description) in Blacksburg (directions) Sat., Aug. 24 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The park has plenty of seating, a picnic shelter, playground equipment, horseshoe pits, an arboretum and plant walking trail, a restroom and plenty of parking.

The association will provide a couple of entrees (fried chicken and another protein), ice, drinks and incidentals. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share, and bring plenty of cash for the monster raffle! We need you to RSVP, so we will know how much food to order.

In addition to some equipment, we will hold a separate raffle for live bees. President Mark Chorba has already promised to donate a nucleus hive. Have some queens or nucs you’d like to donate? Send email to Tonia Moxley.

A special thanks to members Jennifer Lanter, Sue Hossack, April Cortese, Richard Reid and Lynn Tobias for volunteering to set up the food and generally make sure things run smoothly. Thanks to you all! Please consider lending a hand to these folks on the day of the picnic.