2025 Albemarle County Fair, July 31 – August 22
- Ken Hall
- Sep 30
- 2 min read
Though it is somewhat “old news” at this point, I wanted to give a shout-out to the volunteers and honey judging winners in this year’s Albemarle County Fair. As in recent years, the fair was held at Ashlawn – Highlands. We’ve become a major fixture at the fair, and this year saw our exhibit humming with guests almost continuously. Numerous visitors to our tent stopped back by our exhibit as they were leaving the fairgrounds to thank us for the time that was spent talking to them about bees and answering their questions. A number of them said they would see us at the Beginning Beekeeping course. None of this would be possible without our volunteers, and we had a great group that stepped forward to help. I would like to recognize our volunteers, and I hope you will all join me in thanking them for a job well done!
Buzz Barnett
Mark Bittle
Brian Gallagher
Paul Legrand
Ken Hall
Kim Bauman
Margaret Eldridge
Ruth Jolly
Karen Hall
I would like to give a special shout out to Karen Hall for all the tireless work she does in getting everything pulled together for the fair. Not only does she design the displays and create the various handouts, she also checks in all of the honey entries the day before the fair opens – an eight-hour shift in and of itself. On top of that she staffed the booth all three days of the fair. The quality and impact of our booth would not be possible without her efforts.
We did have a more than respectable number of entries this year. Judging was provided by state apiary inspectors Aaron Evans and Katherine Williams. Our thanks go out to them for making time in their busy schedules to support us. Competition was stiff as usual— congratulations to the ribbon winners!
Open Division
Light Amber Liquid Honey
First Place – Paul Legrand
Second Place – Susie White
Third Place – Malcolm Augat
Amber Liquid Honey
First Place – Sara Green
Second Place – Alice Scruby
Third Place – Dominic Fitzsimmons
Dark Amber Liquid Honey
First Place – Tim Scruby
Second Place– Anthony Arcuri
Third Place –Matthew Green
Wax Castings
First Place –Brian Gallagher
Wax Candles
First Place – Matthew Green
Second Place – Sara Green
Junior Division
Amber Liquid Honey
First Place – Andrew Green
Wax Candles
First Place – Shenandoah Green
Second Place – Denton Green
Thanks much to those that took time to prepare and submit their entries. Well done!
For those beekeepers who want to test their craft against the “stiffer” honey judging competition at the Virginia State Fair, whether or not you competed at the county fair level, note that the registration deadline for entries is almost upon us. Deadline for entries is midnight Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Here is the link to the VA State Fair guide:
Ken Hall