Honey Festival · August 14–15, 2027 · Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort — the Carteret County seat on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, one of the state’s oldest towns (incorporated 1722) and a charming waterfront community fronting Taylor Creek and the Rachel Carson Reserve across the channel, at the western end of the Outer Banks barrier island system — sits within one of North Carolina’s most ecologically distinctive honey landscapes: the coastal plain’s maritime forests and pocosins, the brackish marshes and estuaries of Core Sound and Back Sound, the upland longleaf pine savannas of the Crystal Coast, and the wildflower meadows of the surrounding Carteret County countryside create a coastal honey mosaic dominated by gallberry, titi blossom, sea lavender, and the flowering shrubs of the maritime shrub thickets that are unlike anything produced in the state’s interior. The Beaufort Historic Site and waterfront boardwalk host this mid-August festival celebrating Carteret County’s beekeeping heritage and the coastal honey varieties of the Crystal Coast, featuring beekeepers from Carteret, Onslow, Craven, and Pamlico counties who maintain hives in the maritime forests, agricultural fields, and coastal wildflower meadows of North Carolina’s central coast. Beaufort’s honey landscape is shaped by the moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the remarkable ecological richness of North Carolina’s Outer Banks estuarine system: the maritime shrub thickets of the Crystal Coast barrier islands and mainland provide gallberry, wax myrtle, and yaupon holly honey flows that are among the most prized coastal varietals in the Southeast, while the surrounding Croatan National Forest’s pocosins and longleaf savanna restorations provide additional distinctive coastal plain sources that give Crystal Coast honey its characteristic maritime character.
Type: Honey Festival
Date: August 14–15, 2027
Location: Beaufort Historic Site Waterfront, Front Street, Beaufort, North Carolina
Official website: Beaufort Crystal Coast Honey & Maritime Heritage Festival 2027
Honey festivals feature tastings, vendor booths, educational talks, and family-friendly activities celebrating local honey production and beekeeping traditions.
Discover 210+ honey varieties before attending, or learn how to read honey labels to make informed purchases. Explore our North Carolina Honey Sourcing Guide for local variety recommendations.
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