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By Laurie Heuston Mail Tribune October 23. 2014 12:00PM Beekeepers Ball is one sweet soiree The third annual Beekeepers Ball couldn't get any sweeter with The California Honeydrops as the event's headlining band. The Honeydrops know how to throw a party. The California Honeydrops The third annual Beekeepers Ball couldn't get any sweeter with The California Honeydrops as the event's headlining band. The Honeydrops know how to throw a party. Frontman Lech Wierzynski (guitar, trumpet, vocals), drummer Ben Malament, tenor sax and clarinet player Johnny Bones, keyboard player Lorenzo Loera and bassist Beau Bradbury draw from blues, gospel, New Orleans jazz and early R&B traditions to put an organic, street-level spin on a powerhouse of sound guaranteed to get people out of their seats, dancing and singing along. The Beekeepers Ball kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Imperial Ballroom, 40 N. Front St., Medford. This year's dominant theme is "Sweet as Honey," and the 2014 American Honey Queen, Susannah Austin of Florida, will be at the event. Hosted by Jefferson Public Radio's Eric Teel, the ball will offer a honey-themed dinner prepared with locally farmed food, Swing Tree Brewing's Bee Girl Honey Ale, Fire Cirkl Mead and Wylie's Honey Soda. There will be a silent auction full of sweet items, a photo booth, and, of course, a costume contest. Tickets cost $22 in advance and can be purchased at www.beegirl.org, along with local outlets listed on the website. Tickets will cost $28 at the door. The event is open to ages 21 and older. "We want to encourage folks to wear bee-themed costumes," says Sarah Red-Laird, Bee Girl executive director. "It's not necessary, but it's a lot of fun." The ball is a fundraiser for Bee Girl, a nonprofit organization with worldwide presence committed to inspiring and empowering communities to conserve bees and their habitat. Red-Laird presents kids programs and lectures all over the country. Red-Laird has spoken at the Oregon and California State Beekeepers Associations, the Western and Eastern Apicultural Societies and most community rotaries. "It comes down to no bees, no flowers, no food, no you," Red-Laird says. "About one out of every three bites of food we eat comes from a bee's pollination service. They bring flavor, color and life to our plates and the brunt of vitamins, minerals and flavor." Bee Girl's Kids and Bees programs are presented in schools throughout Jackson and Josephine counties, and Red-Laird manages the apiary at the Center for Sustainability at Southern Oregon University. She also offers a beekeeping class to student farmers at SOU. Find out more at www.beegirl.org. Maestro & The Captain's Flat 5 Flim Flam will open the show for The California Honeydrops. Guitarists Byran Miller and Michael Hodgin — original members of Flat 5 String Band — along with stand-up bassist Jesse Baldwin of Kites and Crows, Hamfist and Oregon Shakespeare Festival's The Unfortunates, are the core members of the group. "Miller is The Captain and I'm the Maestro," Hodgin says. "All of the musicians who sit in at our shows are the Flat 5 Flim Flam." Clarinet and sax player Dennis Friese, trumpet player Jason Jackson of the Bend band The Cutmen, and drummer Matt Kriemelman will sit in at the ball. The band draws inspiration from the swing jazz of the '30s and '40s and the hot club jazz sounds of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141023/ENTERTAINMENT/141029871 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->