Annual Honey Festival 2026

Our Best Honey Festival Yet!

Saturday 19th September - Ashford, Co. Wicklow.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Ashford for a wonderful celebration of bees, honey and community.

1,300 jars of local honey and 200 sections of cut comb sold in just four hours.

A Wonderful Day in Ashford

What a day! The 2026 Ashford Honey Festival was officially our most successful yet, with record-breaking honey sales, happy visitors and plenty of activity throughout the Heritage Centre and Parish Grounds.

Since Ashford Beekeeping Association first brought the festival to this wonderful setting in 2018, it has grown into a much-loved annual community event.

We are enormously grateful to everyone who helped make this year’s festival so special.

A Sweet Success

Visitors enjoyed an exceptional selection of local spring, summer, lavender, ivy and heather honey. The tasting table was busy from the moment the doors opened, as people sampled the different varieties and discovered just how much the flavour and character of honey can change with the seasons and local forage.

The honey sales area was equally busy, with visitors keen to take home honey produced by beekeepers from across our local area.

The Bees Took Centre Stage

The observation hives once again provided a fascinating glimpse into the world of the honey bee. Our experienced beekeepers explained how the Queen, workers and drones live and work together inside the colony.

There were plenty of excited faces when children managed to spot the Queen. It was especially encouraging to see so much interest in bees, pollinators and biodiversity among our younger visitors.

Something for Everyone

The festival offered much more than honey. Our artisan stalls featured home produce, plants, handmade soaps, woodwork, ceramics and beautiful creative work from local makers.

Younger visitors enjoyed free face painting and the festival quiz hunt, while hamburgers, strawberries, ice cream, tea, coffee and homemade cakes kept everyone fuelled throughout the day.

Festival Moments

We could not do this without your support!

We acknowledge with thanks the generosity of our sponsors every year. Their continued support means ABKA can keep the festival a free entry event for one and all.

We thank all of the local shops and tourism enterprises for the gifts, vouchers and surprises for the Bumper Raffle.

And last but not least, a heartfelt thank you to our volunteers and members who gave their time, energy and knowledge to make the festival possible. From setting up and welcoming visitors to sharing their love of bees and clearing away afterwards, their generosity helped make it a wonderful day.

To everyone who visited, tasted our honey, explored the stalls or stopped for a chat—thank you for being part of it. Your interest and enthusiasm made this a special celebration of bees and our local community.

We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to Fr. Crossen and the Parish for their kindness and support in helping make the Honey Festival such a successful community event.

For media enquiries please contact media@wicklowbees.com