Bearded bee man kicks off CNE.
Tibor Szabo, of Szabo Queens in Guelph, Ontario, takes on a beard of bees Wednesday during the Canadian National Exhibition preview.
Staff photo/ERIN HATFIELD
Tibor Szabo said taking on a beard of bees is an age-old bee keeper trick to create a buzz about their honey at fairs.
Harkening back to that tradition, the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) launched its media tour for the 133rd edition of the Toronto fair with Szabo taking on a beard of bees on Aug. 17.
Szabo, of Szabo Queens, is a third generation bee keeper from Guelph, Ontario. This was only the second time he had attempted the trick and he said he only got one bee sting in the process.
"Now that they are on and seem to be in a very good mood, I am not nervous at all," Szabo said. "Before they go on there is always a chance that they won't be in a good mood and you won't know that until you start."
Szabo said the beard of bees wasn't painful, but prickly on his skin. Their buzzing motion was also cool against his face.
"The temperature is probably 21 degrees in here," Szabo said from behind a face full of bees. He spoke slowly, without opening his mouth too far, so the bees wouldn't get in.
There was no way of knowing exactly how many bees where on his face, although it was safe to say there were a lot more than most people would be comfortable with. Normally clean shaven, Szabo said the swarm of bees was attracted to his face because he and his helpers had tied the queen bee, their mother, to his chin.
"Every day I am working with bees and I will put my head in a hive to look for a queen, for instance," Szabo explained. "But there is no purpose for this on a regular, day-to-day part of my business."
Although Szabo won't be donning his beard of bees regularly during the CNE, attendees can view live bees in observation hives located in the Better Living Centre. Ontario honey will be for sale and people can gather information about the importance of the honey bee, the role of the bee keeper and pollination in Ontario.
"Bees are a huge indicator of their environment. So anything in the environment affects the bee hive. It affects the amount of bees that are there. It affects the predator population as well," he said. "(The environment) is a huge factor."
Szabo is also the first vice-president of the Ontario Beekeepers' Association, established in 1881, making it one of the oldest established farm organizations in Ontario.
The CNE runs from Aug. 19 to Sept. 5. Visit www.theex.com for details.