Honeybee Weekend

Celebrate pollinators and shop for handcrafted honey and beeswax goods.

Visit The Morton Arboretum for Honeybee Weekend, a celebration of honeybees, beneficial insects, and the vital roles that pollinators play in our environment and food systems.

Explore the fascinating world of honeybees, beekeeping, and mead making while browsing locally made honey, beeswax products, pollinator-friendly plants, artisanal goods, and other bee-inspired items.

Through hands-on activities and educational exhibits, learn about native bees and insect pollinators that support healthy landscapes, and the honeybees and beekeepers that support our food systems. Also, discover ways to help them thrive in your own community.

Honeybee Weekend takes place on Saturday, August 29, and Sunday August 30, and is included with Arboretum general admission.

Program Schedule

Saturday, August 29

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Honeybee Weekend activities and vendors
Arbor Court and Tram Road

10:00 a.m. to noon
Name That Bumblebee
Artists’ demonstration, Gail Diedrichsen
Tram Road

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Performance, Chicago Recorder Society
The Gerard T. Donnelly Grand Garden

10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Illinois Butterflies and Their Host Plants
Presentation, Jamie Viebach, horticulture educator
Cudahy Room

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Beekeeping touch table
Children’s Garden

1:00 p.m. until supplies last
Candlemaking and decorating
Children’s Garden

1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Creating a Hummingbird in Colored Pencil
Artist’s demonstration
Tram Road

1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
A Rusty Patch Bumblebee
Artists’ demonstration, Nicky Metz

1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Native Pollinators of Northern Illinois
Presentation, Jamie Viebach, horticulture educator
Cudahy Room

Sunday, August 30

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Honeybee Weekend activities and vendors
Arbor Court and Tram Road

10:00 a.m. to noon
Bumblebee Image in Scratchboard
Artists’ demonstration, Jill Adzia
Tram Road

10:30 to 11:15 a.m.
Children’s music performance, Miss Jamie’s Farm
Children’s Garden

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Beekeeping touch table
Children’s Garden

Noon to 3:00 p.m.
Mead Tasting
The Grand Garden
Tickets to this event must be purchased in advance.

1:00 p.m. till supplies last
Candlemaking and decorating
Children’s Garden

1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Butterfly in Watercolor
Artists’ demonstration, Jane Kellenberger
Tram Road

Mead Tasting

Sample locally crafted meads from across the Midwest, meet regional meadmakers, and learn how honey is turned into mead at the Mead Tasting on Sunday, August 30. The tasting takes place in the Arboretum’s Gerard T. Donnelly Grand Garden from noon to 3:00 p.m.

Mead Tasting tickets include Arboretum general admission on Sunday, August 30, ten mead samples, and a commemorative Honeybee Weekend tasting glass.

This event is for guests aged 21 and older.

Ticket purchase is required to attend the Mead Tasting.

Tickets

Purchase Mead Tasting tickets and member tickets online.

Cost: $45
Member cost: $35

Mead Tasting tickets include Arboretum general admission on Sunday, August 30, ten mead samples, and a Honeybee Weekend commemorative tasting glass.

Activities and Vendors

Artists’ Demonstrations

Attend live artists’ demonstrations throughout Honeybee Weekend and see how artists create images of plants and pollinators using media like watercolor, scratchboard, and colored pencil.

Live Music from Miss Jamie’s Farm

Join us in the Children’s Garden on Sunday, August 30, for a fun-filled musical performance that’s perfect for young children and their families! Visit the Children’s Garden at 10:30 a.m. to sing, dance, and move to Miss Jamie’s energetic mix of original songs and beloved family favorites.

Vendors

ABELHA HONEY CO.

Bike a Bee

DuPage County Master Gardeners

Flourdesal Bakery (Saturday only)

Gindo’s Hot Sauce

Hive Supply

Honey in the Rock Café

Illinois Bee Rescue

Remi Lou Café

Food and Drinks

Sample honey produced by Chicago-area hives and purchase refreshments from artisan vendors in Arbor Court.

Ginkgo Restaurant and Café

Food and beverages are available at the Ginkgo Restaurant and the Ginkgo Café, both located in the Visitor Center.

The Ginkgo Restaurant is a sit-down restaurant that offers a full lunch and beverage menu, including freshly made sandwiches, salads, burgers, and assorted alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. The restaurant is open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on weekends.

Freshly made packaged salads and sandwiches, bakery items, espresso beverages, hot tea, and drip coffee are available at the Ginkgo Café, open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Accessibility

Honeybee Weekend takes place in Arbor Court and along Meadow Lake Trail.

The surface of Arbor Court is fine gravel with paved, accessible pathways running through it. Seating is available throughout the courtyard. Meadow Lake Trail is a half-mile paved and wheelchair-accessible trail that loops around Meadow Lake.

Parking

Accessible parking is available in parking lot P-1, which features a permeable concrete paver system that allows rainwater to pass through. These pavers are uneven, but the accessible parking spaces and pathways from parking lot P-1 to the Visitor Center have smooth pavers.

Accessibility Aids

Manual wheelchairs are available for loan by visiting the Information Desk inside the Visitor Center, as are other aids for guests with special needs.

Restrooms

There are accessible restrooms in the Visitor Center, which is open until 6:00 p.m. A large all-gender restroom with a changing table is available in the Visitor Center’s West Pavilion, located across the breezeway from the main Visitor Center building.

Visit Accessibility at The Morton Arboretum for more information.