CUSTER, S.D. – Celebrate Black Hills harvested honey at Wild Spruce Market, a specialty food and product retailer, during ‘Honey at Wild Spruce’ on Fri., Sept. 29, 2023 from 12 – 4 p.m. Mountain Time.
The event will take place at the market, located at 447 Mt. Rushmore Rd. in Custer, S.D. The store will provide free samples and takeaway recipes of snacks made with honey. Learn about honey production and get your questions answered from a local honey farmer. Customers can enjoy 10% off all South Dakota honey purchases and find specials on products such as a Café Miel, a coffee drink with honey and Crow Peak Cream Ale, brewed with local honey.
Children are also invited to stop and enjoy a scavenger hunt and craft. Prior to the event, the store will release a coloring contest with different age divisions. The market will reveal the winners at the event, awarding them a special honey-themed prize. Watch the Facebook Event page for details on the contest.
This ‘Fresher is Fun’ event is the third of eight retail store events in the state promoting the purchasing of South Dakota grown specialty crops. The event is sponsored by the S.D. Specialty Producers Association through the Specialty Crop Block Grant program overseen by the S.D. Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR).
Specialty crops include honey, as well as products like produce, jellies, pickles and more. These locally-grown products are fresh, flavorful and fun, and when you buy them, you are supporting producers, grocers, and co-ops who support our local economy.
According to the DANR, there are 185 South Dakotans keeping bees in the state, with around 100 of these maintaining their bees for commercial honey production. South Dakota usually ranks in the top five states in the nation for total number of colonies.
Several producers provide Wild Spruce Market with raw, pure honey, a product with a more creamy texture since it is not purified. Black Hills Gold, Custer, S.D., provides raw, pure honey and the producer will attend at the event. The market sells honey that includes beeswax, propolis and bee pollen as well as lip balms, chest rub, temple rub, babee salve, and other beauty products from Black Hills Honey Farm, Spearfish, S.D. They also carry raw, pure honey from 3 Queens Honey of New Underwood, S.D.
The market provides a convenient way to access a variety of local specialty crops and niche products at one location. In addition to honey, Wild Spruce Market offers other local specialty crops including vegetables. The store also offers other local products including goats milk soap, eggs, cheese, butter, bison, lamb, goat, and beef. In addition to the retail offerings, the market houses an espresso bar with locally roasted coffee and offers five local brews on tap and local wine and kombucha.
