ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Those who got to the Honeybee Festival last Saturday were lucky — they got to experience some of the best honey in the area, saw booths filled with one-of-a-kind items or got to know some of the local organizations that make life a little easier around here,

Festival goers also got a chance to see some rolling, siren-screaming thunder as a parade of fire trucks came down Highway 59. Kids, armed with sacks waited as people on the trucks and cars tossed beads and candy.

But first, it was a chance to stop into the George P. Thames Senior Citizens Center and sit down a good $5 pancake breakfast hand-cooked by members of the Central Baldwin Kiwanis Club.

“All the proceeds go to various charities in the area,” said John Price, the club’s president. “Last year, we sold 75 (breakfasts). This year, we are hoping to sell 100.”

They were going to get to 100 breakfasts if Richard Ard had anything to say about it.

Ard said he’d been a Kiwanian for about six years, and making pancakes was just a tradition for him.

“I would cook at home. My kids had pancakes,” Ard said, adding that his late mother-in-law Nellie Meyer of Fairhope was the family baking champion, baking pies to give away.

Getting their fire apparatus ready for the parade was the job for a number of Styx River Volunteer Fire Department members. The department brought two “RTVs,” or Rough Terrain Vehicles, to the festival. While they look like golf carts that took a mega-dose of steroids, they are really small fire trucks built onto off-road vehicles.

“We use these for search and rescue and to fight brush fires,” said firefighter Steven Hinote.

There were plenty of area beekeepers with jars and other containers filled with delicious, sweet amber honey.

“Most of my honey comes from wildflowers that grew this spring and early summer,” said Delly Booker of Rosinton.

And while the mood was festive, it has not been an easy year for bee keepers.

“I have had some trouble with Colony Collapse Disorder,” he added, referring to a mysterious disease that kills bees. While the problem is being studied, beekeepers are trying to keep their colonies alive. At this time, Booker has 20 active hives. Several other bee keepers at the festival indicated that they have had some problems with the disease.

The auction, often a raucous affair, was slated to begin around noon. A quick tour of the tent showed a number of printers, lamps, a dresser, tires, infant clothing, and a small Christmas tree for sale.

But while there was plenty of chances to learn, most fairgoers seemed to be intent on having fun.

“Oh my goodness, they are after me,” exclaimed a delighted Maggie Sledge of Robertsdale as she fed the goats in the petting zoo.