Western Pennsylvania Beekeeping Seminar

11/03/2025

Happy November, beeks! 🐝
We hope your winter preps are wrapped up (or close to it)! This is your reminder that early bird ticket sales end in just 27 days, after December 1st, ticket prices will increase to $80.

🎟️ Grab your spot today on our Zeffy ticketing platform before prices go up!

Excitement is buzzing in the air! Western Pa's premier beekeeping seminar returns on February 6th and 7th. Two days filled with the best beekeeping knowledge from around the area. Guest speakers include: Jerry Hayes editor of Bee Culture, Herman Danenhower, Karen Roccasecca, Cici Sweeney, and Grant....

10/01/2025

Early bird tickets are now available for the 2026 Western Pennsylvania Beekeeping Seminar! 🎉

📅 February 6–7, 2026
📍 Gateway High School, Monroeville, PA

Secure your spot today for just $70 (early bird pricing ends December 1st).

🐝 Featured Speakers:

Jerry Hayes
Grant Stiles
Herman Danenhower
Karen Roccassecca
Cici Sweeney

Plus, enjoy shopping with a variety of beekeeping vendors, connecting with fellow beekeepers, and even joining in on some fun games!

Don’t wait!! Reserve your ticket today before prices increase!

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-western-pennsylvania-beekeeping-seminar

Seminar merch is also available for pre-order! Check out the link below to find our new shop

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-western-pa-beekeeping-seminar-merch-shop

Welcome to our online shop for the 2026 Western Pa. Beekeeping seminar! Every purchase you make directly supports our mission. Browse our selection and find the perfect items for you.Happy shopping! 🌟Western Pa. Beekeeping Seminar

09/29/2025

🐝 Attention Beekeepers & Bee Enthusiasts! 🐝

We’re thrilled to announce that ticket sales for the 2026 Western PA Beekeeping Seminar go live this Wednesday, October 1st! Mark your calendars, you won’t want to miss this!

📅 Friday, February 6 & Saturday, February 7, 2026
📍 Location: Gateway Senior High School • 3000 Gateway Campus Blvd, Monroeville, PA

🎟️ Ticket Info & Pricing - This year, we’re excited to introduce a new ticketing platform designed specifically for non-profit organizations like ours, helping to keep fees lower and the process smoother for everyone.

At checkout, you will see an option to add a small donation to help cover processing costs. This donation is completely optional and you’re welcome to set it to zero if you prefer. We appreciate any support, but there’s absolutely no pressure!

Early bird tickets (starting Wednesday) $70 per person

Price increases to $80 on December 1st

Door / day‑of price: $90 (Note: lunch may not be guaranteed for same‑day registrations)

Online ticket sales close February 1

🗣️ What to Expect

On Friday evening, we’ll open with a casual “meet & greet” (6:30–7:30 PM) a great chance to mingle with speakers and vendors before the sessions begin Saturday morning

Saturday kicks off with registration (coffee & donuts), then full speaker sessions plus breakout tracks, vendor time, and more.

Featured speakers include Jerry Hayes, Editor of Bee Culture, Herman Danenhower, Grant Stiles, Karen Roccasecca, and Cici Sweeney

🙋 Want to Help? Volunteers Needed!
Volunteers get a free event T‑shirt. If you’re interested in helping the day of, please reach out to Bill Kopar at wkopar@gmail.com

🍯 Bonus Perk
Bring a 1‑lb (or smaller) jar of honey to donate to the Rosedale Food Bank, for each donation, you’ll receive a free raffle ticket.

Follow the link here to purchase your early bird tickets starting this Wednesday!

Excitement is buzzing in the air! Western Pa's premier beekeeping seminar returns on February 6th and 7th. Two days filled with the best beekeeping knowledge from around the area. Guest speakers include: Jerry Hayes editor of Bee Culture, Herman Danenhower, Karen Roccasecca, Cici Sweeney, and Grant....

08/19/2025

🐝 Attention Worker Bees and Drones! 🐝

The hive is buzzing with excitement — the Volunteer Planning Committee is thrilled to announce that the dates and location are officially set for the 2026 Western Pennsylvania Beekeeping Seminar! 🍯🐝

Save the Date:
📅 February 6th & 7th, 2026
📍 Gateway High School, Monroeville, PA

Whether you're a seasoned queen or a curious newbee, this is your chance to gather nectar (aka knowledge), swap stories, and connect with fellow beekeepers from across the region.

🐝 Early bird ticket info will be flying your way soon — stay tuned!

Let’s make this the sweetest seminar yet! 🍯

02/10/2025

The 2025 Western Pa. Beekeeping Seminar is officially in the books! We hope you had a fantastic time hearing from our insightful guest speakers, exploring the wide variety of vendors, enjoying the games, and maybe even making a new friend or two.

A huge thank you to all of our speakers and vendors for making the trip to Monroeville for the weekend. Another big round of thanks goes out to everyone who purchased tickets or a shirt for the event. Your support makes it all possible, helping us continue to bring this event to life year after year. We couldn’t do it without you!

The planning committee will be taking a short breather to refuel and check our hives (when the weather warms up, of course), but we’ll be right back at it planning the 2026 event. If you’re local and want to get involved in planning future events, feel free to message us—we’d love to have you in our planning meetings!

02/06/2025

As we near seminar weekend, please see the pre seminar letter below from committee chair, Joe Z. We look forward to seeing you all this weekend!

Hello Beekeepers!
The Western Pennsylvania Beekeeping Seminar Committee is looking forward to seeing you Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8 at Gateway High School located at 3000 Gateway Campus Blvd., Monroeville PA 15146. Enter the school through the main entrance at the auditorium. Vendors will be setting up Friday, but only open for business on Saturday. If you made a pre-order with a vendor, please arrange to pick it up Friday night in the school parking lot. Our Friday night educational beekeeping game show be led by Penn State Extension Apiculture Educator Dr. Robyn Underwood at 7 PM in the auditorium. Vendors will be busy setting up at this time, please don’t disturb them! No registrations will be done Friday night. Registration will be open at 7:00 AM on Saturday in the auditorium lobby area. The morning presentations will begin at 8:00 AM in the auditorium. Before the presentations feel free to get some complementary coffee and donuts in the cafeteria and visit with the vendors in the auxiliary gym. The seminar ends at 4:25 pm on Saturday afternoon. Vendors will be available until approximately 4:50 pm, They need to pack up to be out of the building by 5:30 pm.

Here is a link to our online registration site for current seminar
information: https://www.beavervalleybees.net/yearly-happening-wpa-sem

We are accepting walk-in registrations on Saturday February 8, but walk-in attendees will not receive lunch. Feel free to invite a friend, they can simply pack a lunch.

If you are a beekeeper, please bring one jar of honey to donate to our honey display at the meeting. After the meeting the honey will be donated to the Rosedale Food Pantry in Verona Pennsylvania. The Rosedale Food Pantry is a volunteer organization that provides boxes of food to about 200 needy families per week. Please help us add a jar of delicious honey to the food boxes of residents that may not have the resources to find and purchase a truly special local food. All honey
donors will recieve a complementary raffle ticket.

02/01/2025

Online Sales Are Now Closed!

A huge thank you to everyone who purchased tickets in advance! If you missed the chance to buy online, don’t worry—you can still attend by purchasing a ticket at the door on Saturday, February 8th.

Tickets will be $85 and will grant you access to guest speakers, vendors, games, and raffles. Please note that lunch will not be provided for tickets purchased on the day of the event.

01/31/2025

Good morning!
Today is your last chance to get tickets online for just $75. After today, online sales will end, and tickets will only be available at the door for $85 on February 8th—plus, you won’t receive the complimentary lunch.

So, while you're enjoying your morning coffee and watching your hives from the kitchen window, click the link to grab your tickets. Join us next Friday evening and Saturday for a jam-packed seminar all about the incredible honey bee!

https://westpabee2025.eventbrite.com

01/26/2025

One more additional discount we've received.

HillCo is offering a 10% and seminar pick up when you use promo code WPA25. When checking out, please select in store pick up WITH the promo code. This will notify the team to hold your order and bring it to the seminar.

https://www.hillco.buzz/

Thanks everyone!!

HillCo, LLC is an Illinois-based beekeeping equipment supplier. We offer all kinds of bee supplies, specializing in high quality woodenware and honey extractors. Our bee hive components are made in USA! We also sell smokers, bee suits, protective gear, feeders, and more! Check out our fantastic bee....

01/25/2025

Happy Saturday, everyone! 🎉

We're down to the last 5 days of online ticket sales for $75! After February 1st, tickets will only be available at the door on February 8th for $85, and you won’t receive lunch with your ticket.

You won’t want to miss our incredible lineup of speakers, a hive-full of amazing industry vendors, exciting raffles, games, and more! 🐝

Plus, don’t forget about the exclusive presale discounts some of our vendors are offering. Check out the infographic below to see the special deals!

Only two weeks left until the seminar — don't miss out!

https://westpabee2025.eventbrite.com

01/21/2025

It might be in the single digits here in Pittsburgh today, but the Western PA Beekeeping Seminar is heating up with only 17 days to go!

We’re just 10 days away from closing online ticket sales. After January 31st at 11:59 PM, online tickets will no longer be available. If you miss the deadline, you’ll have to buy your ticket at the door on February 8th for $85—and you won’t receive lunch! Don’t delay—secure your tickets today!

Additional important info for attendees:
We’ve got some exciting deals for you! A handful of our vendors are offering discounts and will even bring your purchases to the seminar if you order before February 5th. Be sure to check them out and take advantage of these great offers!

Also, do not forget to bring a jar of honey to the seminar for the local food bank. Attendees that donate a jar of honey will receive a raffle ticket towards our awesome raffles!

https://westpabee2025.eventbrite.com

The Western Pennsylvania Beekeeping Seminar is an annual educational event sponsored by several Western PA Beekeeper Organizations and PSU Extension.

01/07/2025

📣Today is the final day to order your seminar shirts! The online store will close at 8:30 PM tonight, so don’t miss out. Click the link below to grab your shirt before time runs out!

📣Only 31 Days to Go Until the 2025 Western Pennsylvania Beekeeping Seminar!

We’re just one month away from the seminar on February 8th! Join us for an exciting day of learning from top-notch speakers, including:

*Dr. Lawrence Conner
*Dr. Jon Zawislak
*Fred Dunn
*Dr. Robyn Underwood
…and more!

📣Plus, we’ve got an amazing lineup of vendors already confirmed, including:

Apimaye
Apimon
Bedillion
Betterbee
Dadant
Ernst Seed
Hillside
HillCo
McCormack Apiaries
Midnight Bee
Northwest PA Beekeepers Association
Wicwas Press
Royal Bee

📣Exciting Games and Prizes Throughout the Day!
We’re making sure the fun doesn’t stop at just the seminar! Check out all the fun games and raffles you can participate in:

*Silent Auction
Tickets: $1 each, $5 for 8 tickets, $10 for 20 tickets
How it works: Tickets will be sold at the Silent Auction table. Winners will be drawn throughout the day, so get your tickets in early! Items and winning tickets will be posted and announced (PA system available).
Claiming your prize: You must be present to win and show your ticket to claim your prize. The only prize available for mailing is a gift card. All other items must be taken home by the end of the event.

*50/50 Raffle
Tickets: $1 each, $5 for 8 tickets, $10 for 20 tickets
How it works: The pot is split in half—one half goes to the event, the other half goes to the lucky winner!
Claiming your prize: You must be present to win and present your ticket to claim your prize. This is a cash prize.

*Human BINGO
How it works: When you register, you’ll receive a Human BINGO card. The goal is to network with people at the event and find those who match the experiences/characteristics on the card. Some of the "humans" you meet will be other attendees, others will be vendors!
Prize: Once your card is full, present it at the Silent Auction table to claim your prize! Prizes are RANDOM and could include tickets, PLINKO discs, or other donated gifts.

*PLINKO
How it works: Drop a PLINKO disc and watch it bounce its way to a prize! There are fun surprises waiting for you at the PLINKO board, so give it a try!

📣We’ve got a jam-packed day planned with fun, games, and prizes—make sure you get involved to take home some goodies! Mark your calendars, get your shirt, and don’t forget to grab your raffle and auction tickets when you arrive on February 8th!

Western Pa's. best beekeeping seminar returns on February 7th and 8th. Join us at Gateway Highschool for great speakers, vendors, and more!