MEETING DATES

January 16, 2025 – CANCELLED due to weather.
February 20, 2025 – CANCELLED due to weather.
March 20, 2025
April 17, 2025
May 15, 2025
June 19, 2025
July 18, 2025 (Cookout, we will meet on Friday!)
August 21, 2025
September 18, 2025
October 16, 2025
November 20, 2025
December 18, 2025

2025 Lessons & Presentations

January –
February –
March – Stephen Winkler – Splitting hives
April – David Sams – Swarms, controlling and catching
May – Theresa J. Martin – “Dead Bees Don’t Make Honey”
June – David Sams – varroa mites
July – Round table discussion – cook out
August – Theresa J. Martin – “Importance of Propolis”
September – Daniel Geleynse – Winterizing your Colonies
October –
November – Round table discussion Thanksgiving feast.
December – Holiday Party – Dirty Santa Game

Potluck Dinner Themes

Quick question: Do you secretly always hope that your contribution will be the first to go during a potluck? Of course, you do! Because that’s the ultimate compliment!
From the time that the holidays were first celebrated in America, the potluck concept everybody who is invited brings food for the meal—has been used for gatherings. After all, a potluck is much like America itself: a melting pot at which everyone contributes, thus fostering togetherness and communal happiness. Continue to harvest that joy with friends and fellow beekeepers by sharing your harvest of snacks, salads, soups, main/side dishes, & desserts from your gardens.

January – CHILI COOKOFF POTLUCK
Cold weather, bring on the chili! This is a night for members to show off their best chili and cornbread recipes and vote on their favorites. Those who don’t want to get into the competition can bring toppings: cheese, onions, sour cream, and chips. Please bring something to share. We will have ballots and a fun prize for the best chili and best cornbread winners.

February – CASSEROLE POTLUCK
Casseroles create comfort any time of year, but on a cold evening this theme will leave everyone feeling warm, fuzzy, and full. When someone brings a lasagna, you can have fun debating whether it counts as a true casserole or a pasta dish.

March – FEELING LUCKY POTLUCK
Try this Irish-inspired theme party. You can’t go wrong with the luck of the Irish. Beef stew, Irish soda bread, potato soup, corned beef and cabbage, bread pudding and anything else from the Emerald Isle will make for a fun affair.

April – SPRING CHICKEN POTLUCK
Let chickens and eggs inspire all the dish creations this evening. You can debate the chicken and the egg question over a meal of dishes prepared with either chicken or an egg. From chicken pot pie to a quiche this theme makes for some tasty foods.

May – CINCO DE MAYO POTLUCK
This Mexican-inspired theme is always a fun and festive event. Guacamole, tacos, enchiladas, refried beans, seasoned shredded chicken, ground beef, fajitas, Spanish rice, diced mango, and tortilla chips are pleasing any time of year, but especially around Cinco de Mayo!

July – DOWN SOUTH COOKOUT
A “cookout” means grilling food outside. The cookout menu features foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, and other easy foods. A potluck is a communal gathering where each guest contributes a different, often homemade dish of food to be shared.
CVBA will supply the hamburgers, hotdogs, and buns. Please bring salads, side dishes, chips, & desserts to share with others. The July cookout will be on the 3^rd Friday of July to allow the club to grill the meat.

August – GARDEN FRESH POTLUCK
This theme will delight lovers of fresh, local fare. Think of the many dishes that are becoming popular at farm-to-table restaurants and allow that to help guide some ideas. A quick glance at any local farm-to-table restaurant menu will provide the ideas you need.

September – HARVEST POTLUCK
Quick question: Do you secretly always hope that your contribution will be the first to go during a potluck? Of course, you do! Because that’s the ultimate compliment! 
From the time that the holidays were first celebrated in America, the potluck concept—everybody who is invited brings food for the meal—has been used for gatherings. After all, a potluck is much like America itself: a melting pot at which everyone contributes, thus fostering togetherness and communal happiness. Continue to harvest that joy with friends and fellow beekeepers by sharing your harvest of snacks, salads, soups, main/side dishes, & desserts from your gardens.

October – COMFORT FOOD POTLUCK
Everyone loves a hearty plate of comfort food, so give the people what they want with a comfort food potluck. Comfort foods are traditional and often provide a nostalgic feeling to the diners. Fried chicken, green bean casserole, baked beans, mashed potatoes, mac ‘n’ cheese, and dinner rolls will be the top dishes. Don’t forget apple pie for dessert.

November – GIVING THANKS POTLUCK
The use of the turkey in the United States for Thanksgiving precedes Abraham Lincoln’s nationalization of the holiday in 1863. In her 1827 novel Northwood; or
a Tale of New England, Sarah Josepha Hale devoted an entire chapter to Thanksgiving dinner, emphasizing many of the foods that are now considered traditional. Although many other types of meat are mentioned, “the roasted turkey took precedence on this occasion, being placed at the head of the table; and well did it become its lordly station, sending forth the rich odor of its savory stuffing”. For dessert, “the celebrated pumpkin pie…occupied the most distinguished niche” and was described as “an indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving”. CVBA will roast the turkey & bake the ham the rest is up to you all!

December – HOLIDAY FESTIVAL POTLUCK
It is believed that the forerunner of the Christmas dinner was the midwinter feast enjoyed by our ancient ancestors. Feasts were held to celebrate the pagan midwinter solstice, and archaeological digs have discovered that the most popular meats served up were pork and beef. Pork would be cooked over spits, while beef would be chopped up and used in hearty winter stews.
To accompany the feasts, seasonal fruits were consumed, such as crab apples and berries.
The feasts of our ancestors were a lot different from the Christmas dinners we know and love today, but the basics – roast meat accompanied by a selection of trimmings – were already there many centuries ago. 
The club will supply the meat. Members and guests are asked to bring their favorite side dish, casserole, vegetable, bread, salad, or desert.