West Virginia State Honey Festival to swarm Parkersburg City Park
Charlie Metz, with the help of beekeepers, applies the bee beard during a demonstration at the 43rd annual Honey Festival in Parkersburg City Park in 2024. (File photo)
Jayne Kinney of Morgantown (originally from Parkersburg) bought some items from Penney Simonton, owner of The Farm Bunny Honey Company in Elizabeth during the 44th Annual West Virginia State Honey Festival held at City Park in Parkersburg in 2025. (File photo)
Charlie Metz, with the help of beekeepers, applies the bee beard during a demonstration at the 43rd annual Honey Festival in Parkersburg City Park in 2024. (File photo)
Jayne Kinney of Morgantown (originally from Parkersburg) bought some items from Penney Simonton, owner of The Farm Bunny Honey Company in Elizabeth during the 44th Annual West Virginia State Honey Festival held at City Park in Parkersburg in 2025. (File photo)
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PARKERSBURG -- The West Virginia State Honey Festival will return to Parkersburg City Park this weekend with honey tastings, live beehive demonstrations, entertainment, children's activities and a new glow-themed 5K.
The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $5 per person, while children age 5 and younger will be admitted free.
The weekend will begin early with the inaugural Buzzin' Glow Run at 8 p.m. Friday. The family-friendly 5K is being organized by the Wood County Recreation Commission in partnership with the River City Runners.
Jared Bloxton, executive director of Wood County Recreation, said registration remains open and participants may sign up on the night of the race. The course will remain within City Park and will not extend onto the surrounding main roads.
Participants will receive glow sticks and other light-up accessories. Runners and walkers are also encouraged to wear neon clothing or bring their own glow gear. Awards will be presented in several divisions and categories.
The reigning West Virginia State Honey Festival queens will serve as honorary judges and present awards during the run. Organizers said their participation is intended to connect the new recreational event with the festival's pageant traditions and highlight the queens' roles as community ambassadors.
Festival activities will begin with a children's pageant at 10 a.m. Saturday at the bandshell. Queens selected during the festival's earlier pageant will also appear throughout the weekend.
Educational attractions will include live beehives, honey tastings, a honey contest and open-hive demonstrations on both days.
"We'll have an open hive demo on both days," Bloxton said. "We'll have a bee beard demo on both days."
During the bee beard demonstration, live bees will gather on a handler's face and upper body to create the appearance of a beard.
The festival was founded to educate visitors about honey and the importance of honeybees. Its other attractions will include a farmers market, craft show, food trucks and vendors, children's games, train rides, inflatables and an interactive trail card with prizes.
The Pioneer Antique Auto Show will also return. Most festival activities will be located in the grassy area between the bandshell and the new park building, while the auto show will be held on the other side of the building toward the pond.
Bloxton said the festival's layout will be familiar to people who have attended in previous years.
Live entertainment Saturday will include Mike & Carla at 11 a.m., Luke Colombo at 1 p.m. and LEX at 3 p.m.
Sunday's lineup will feature Insured Sound at noon, Red Sky Down at 2 p.m. and The Zappers at 3:30 p.m.