Regular Monthly Meetings
Meetings take place at the Topsham Grange Hall (47 Pleasant St. in Topsham) and are held year round on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Doors open at 6:00 pm for socializing and refreshments and the business meeting starts at 6:30. At 7:00 there is a guest speaker September through May, and roundtable discussions in June, July and August. The December meeting is our annual potluck dinner and honey tasting.
October 8th- Maine State Prison Beekeepers Zoom presentation. Incarcerated beekeepers will speak about their experiences beekeeping while in the Maine prison system.
November 12th- Bee Crafty! Handmade gifts from the hive with Carolyn.
December 10th- Annual Holiday Potluck (no speaker). Bring favorite appetizers, salads, entrees or desserts, also a small jar of your best honey for a blind tasting contest. Each attendee gets a raffle ticket for a chance to win a door prize.
Open Hives
Open Hives offering hands-on learning opportunities are held in various members’ apiaries during the summer. Experienced beekeepers lead a guided inspection of hives and demonstrate actions such as splits, mite infestation assessment, treatment applications and other essential tasks specific to the season. All attendees must wear a veil. Updated information and directions to the host locations are sent out via Google Group emails prior to the event. They are held normally on Saturday mornings at 10:00 AM.
Bee Breakfasts
SCBA holds a “Bee Breakfast” on the 4th Saturday of each month at 8:00 AM in the private dining room at the Fairground Cafe in Topsham Fair Mall (next to Jo-Ann Fabric). It’s a casual and fun way to get to know other members and talk about our bees. For beginners, it’s a great opportunity to get advice and learn more about beekeeping. Attendance averages 12 to 15 people, sometimes more. If you’re not hungry, it’s fine to just have a cup of coffee. We do separate checks and tips are included since it’s a group. *If you plan to attend please email us by the day before at: scbacommunications@gmail.com so we can give the Cafe a headcount.
Club Apiary Events
The SCBA Club Apiary committee holds monthly meet ups at the apiary to conduct mite checks, feed, inspect, harvest, and winter prep. Events will be posted on our facebook page.
Beekeeping Fundamentals Adult Ed Class- Starts Jan 15th, 2026
This six class course of instruction is designed for those that wish to become a beekeeper. The course will cover the what, why, and how of beekeeping. Topics include but are not limited to bee biology, equipment requirements and setup, seasonal management techniques, diseases, pest management, honeybee environmental benefits, and hive products. The goal of this course is to develop a foundation for new beekeepers to be prepared to keep bees. A course textbook will be provided to each student. FMI or to register: click here
Other Events….
2026 Club extraction event- TBD. We will use club equipment to extract frames. RSVP scbacommunications@gmail.com for address and headcount.
2026 MSBA Planned Events:
2026 Beefest- TBD
2026 MSA Annual Conference- TBD
