Oregon’s Honey Fest is getting sweeter every year

The Oregon Rec fields were buzzing with activity Sept. 20 as people gathered for the third annual Honey Fest.

The City of Oregon once again partnered with the Maumee Valley Beekeepers Association and the Eastern Maumee Bay Chamber of Commerce to hold the event. In addition to local honey, festival goers enjoyed arts and crafts vendors, live music from local bands, food trucks, honey beer and mead by Buffalo Rock and the Funky Turtle, a magician, a free kid’s inflatable fun zone, and a live bee beard by Beekeeper Roger Myer.

“Our attendance was larger than the previous years, with between 1500-2000 people.” Oregon Parks and Rec Commissioner Tim Borton said. “We hope the festival continues to grow in future years.”

There was also increased participation in the many “un-bee-lieveable” contests, which were ongoing throughout the festival. The following are the first-place winners of each category:

• • Best of Show Honey: Tom Muir
• • Best of Show Baking: Jeanette Dornbusch
• • Best of Show Photography: Jeff Snider
• • People’s Choice Award (Raw Honey): JP Backyard Hobbies
• • People’s Choice Award (Infused Honey): Becky’s Sunny Honey & Bees
• • Cutest Ba-Bee: Alaya Cook
• • Cutest Bumble Dog: Badger (Wendie Romano, owner)
• • Pie Eating: Paxton Phillips

The Honey Fest grew out of Oregon’s former fall festival that was hosted at the city’s rec center.

“In 2022, our new city administrator at the time, Joel Mazur, thought the [fall] festival was nice but we needed a theme,” Borton recounts, noting that other local communities have centered their fall celebrations around produce such as cherries and strawberries.

Mazur proposed honey, and the rest is history.

“From there the festival has grown every year since 2023.” Borton says. “We hope in 2026 to have a larger footprint with increased vendors and viewing public.”

Oregon’s fourth annual Honey Fest is slated for Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026.