Queen Rearing Day - Friday, June 5

One of the most powerful ways to elevate your beekeeping skills is to learn how to raise your own queens. Dr. David Peck and David Burns bring years of hands-on queen-rearing experience to guide you step by step through the process. You’ll learn firsthand how to select superior stock, graft larvae, build and manage starter and finishing hives, and understand the essential biology behind successful queen rearing.

This event takes place on Friday, June 5 from 9AM to 3PM and includes lunch.

Registration is limited to 40 participants so don’t hesitate to register.

Registrants must have one (1) year of beekeeping experience and be 12+ years old, persons under 18 must have a paid adult to accompany them.

Date: Friday, June 5th , 2026. Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: Dreher Building, Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. Lawrence, KS 66046
Cost: $100, includes boxed lunch and beverage.

What to Bring: Veil or bee jacket.

Registration is limited to 40 participants, so don’t wait, register now!
Click here (link) for additional information and registration.

If you have questions or you would like to be a vendor, please call, text, or email Milisa Suckow

at 816-820-7923.

Bee Funday 2026, Saturday June 6

2026 Funday – Saturday, June 6th Douglas County Fairgrounds, Lawrence

Join us for a day of beekeeping education and hands-on interactive sessions featuring expert guest speakers, an open teaching apiary, and value-added talks. Enjoy lunch, honey ice cream and conversation with many other beekeepers.

Our interactive sessions are designed to help all experience levels grow their beekeeping skills with hands-on learning and real conversation. These aren’t just lectures, you’ll have the chance to ask questions, share experiences, and work through real-world hive situations alongside experienced beekeepers.

The keynote address is “Critical Thinking” presented by David Burns. Other presentations include Honey Bee Microscopy, Bee-Friendly Policy and Advocacy Training, and many others. The interactive sessions include Inspecting Your Hive and How to Accomplish it all in 12 Minutes, Making Splits, Soap Making and many more. Other speakers include Dr. David Peck, Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, Brian McCornack, PhD and many experienced beekeepers.

The event also includes a bee photo contest and hive painting competition, so bring your best photos and best painted hives and enter the contest.

An evening event will include dinner and a presentation by Prof. Amal Abdallah Mohammed about beekeeping in Jordan.

Date: Saturday, June 6th , 2026 Time: 8am – 5pm Location: Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. Lawrence, KS 66046 Cost: $50, includes lunch, beverage and honey ice cream.

If you have questions or you would like to be a vendor, please call, text, or email Milisa Suckow at 816-820-7923..

Dr. David Peck: Since 2024 Dr. Peck has served as the Academic Advisor for the Eastern Apicultural Society's Certified Master Beekeeper program. David researches honey bee behavior and the evolutionary host-parasite relationship between bees and Varroa mites. Since completing his doctoral work in Cornell’s Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Dr. Peck has done field research and consulted to protect bees in both Newfoundland, Canada, and Anosy, Madagascar. He left Cornell to move to Greenwich, New York, where he now works for Betterbee. Dr. Peck develops and teaches classes on beekeeping and bee biology, bridges the gap between cutting-edge bee science and the beekeeping industry, and conducts research to improve our understanding of bee biology and to help keep honey bees healthy.

David Burns: David started beekeeping in the early 1990s and started a beekeeping business several years later. In 2006 David began blogging and uploading beekeeping videos to YouTube. His YouTube channel has grown to around 154,000 subscribers. He also produces a weekly beekeeping podcast. In 2020 David & Sheri were approached by Rockridge press to write the book “Backyard Beekeeping: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your First Hive.” He has produced a suite of online beekeeping courses that have become very popular among new beekeepers. David produces queens, nucs and packages. To make sure beekeepers had the best and latest scientific information on bees and beekeeping, David became a Certified Master Beekeeper through the Eastern Apicultural Society (2010). He also writes a weekly column for Bee Culture Magazine.

Dr. Judy Wu-Smart (Associate Professor & Extension Specialist) received her MS at Washington State University under the advisement of Drs. Steve Sheppard and Carol Anelli and a PhD from University of Minnesota with Dr. Marla Spivak. She has been the director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab since 2015. At UNL, she and her team have been developing a robust pollinator health program for the Midwest region to help beekeepers, scientists, policy makers, and land managers understand the underlying stressors challenging bee health, such as improper management of pests and diseases and exposure to pesticides. Community engagement and promoting science literacy around these complicated farm-to-table issues are also key components of her research and extension education programs

Prof. Amal Abdallah Mohammed is a Professor of Apiculture at Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU), Jordan, with extensive experience in teaching and research in honey bee biology, health, and sustainable beekeeping management. She previously served as the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology and is currently the Dean of Scientific Research and Innovation at BAU. Prof. Mohammed has received support for and contributed to several international projects focused on sustainable agriculture, research development, and innovation. She has been invited as a keynote speaker at numerous scientific conferences and professional events across several Arab countries, sharing expertise in apiculture, pollinator health, and the importance of bees for food security and ecosystem sustainability. She is currently a Visiting Research Scholar at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Bee Lab, hosted by Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, where she is engaged in research collaboration and outreach activities related to honey bee health and management.

Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association

The Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association is a 501(c)5 non-profit organization.

Dr. Judy Wu-Smart

nekba bee funday

To make Funday 2026 a successful event, we will need many volunteers.

Please click on the link or QR code and you will be directed to our volunteer sign-up form. At the actual form, you can select the volunteer slot you are interested in and sign-up.

Thank you for volunteering and for making Funday a success. If you have any questions, please call or text Milisa Suckow at 816-820-7923. https://www.signupgenius.com/

GOOD FELLOWSHIP & GOOD BEEKEEPING

Bee Funday 2026 - See you Saturday, June 6

Please join us for our annual educational and fun event for beekeepers and those wanting to explore beekeeping. This year’s event includes presentations and interactive sessions. Vendors will be on-site as well as a silent auction. Added this year is a Queen Rearing Day that will take place the day before on Friday, June 5 taught by 2 of the country's leading beekeepers..

Dr. David Peck

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David Burns

Looking for a hotel to stay at in Lawrence for the 2026 Bee Funday?

We have a block of rooms available. Ask for special Beekeeping Funday rates or make your reservation on-line! Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lawrence, KS 3411 S.W. Iowa St, Lawrence, KS Phone: 785-749-7555
Mention Beekeepers Meeting when calling to make reservations or enter when making online reservations.

Parking your RV or travel trailers will be allowed on the Douglas County Fairgrounds

There are sixteen sites that have electricity (30 amp or 50 amp each), NO water, parked on gravel, and the cost is $15 per night. There are eight sites that do NOT have electricity or water, parked on dirt/grass and there is no cost for these sites. You will need to make reservations for the sites. Contact Paige Vannicola at pvannicola@dgcoks.gov and provide her your arrival date and departure date. Paige will send you an electronic invoice that will need to be paid by credit card. If you have questions for Paige, she can also be reached by telephone at 785-832-5296.

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