Honeyfest

Every spring, the festival of Honeyfest in Beaford (SR) gathers commoners, merchants, performers, and scoundrels from all across the land.  Renown as the premier trading post for honey and honey-related goods, the celebration has a reputation for rowdy nights as the finest and cheapest of meads are sold in abundance.

History

During the Caelian Era, the land around Beaford was rich and fertile, though sparsely populated.  Keen apiarists discovered that the undisturbed, wild vegetation in this area producted profoundly flavorful honey, and multiple families established estates in the country for the purpose of keeping bees and other honey-producing animals. 
After the cataclysmic events at the end of Menim's War, the drier climate in Sirastir caused a shift in vegetation.  While the variety of wild plants evolved over time, so too did the bees being kept in this area. As traditional food and commodity crops failed year after year, the desperate townsfolk sought a new way to survive.  
In 78 YR, the first official Honeyfest was held in the central market of Beaford.  As the years went on, word spread and merchants farther afield learned that Honeyfest meant fresh coins in the hands of the impoverished and inexperienced.  From charlatans to entertainers, Honeyfest slowly attracted a broader and broader variety of visitor. 
Around 137 YR, the roads to Beaford having become increasingly dangerous as the land around it continued to experience climate-induced change, leadership of the town was officially taken over by The Banner Knights.  Loosely related to the church of Reorx, the Banner Knights established Beaford as their headquarters and Honeyfest as their sole responsibility.  

What to expect

Many of the merchants who gather at Honeyfest are local village bakers and artisans, but some are traveling antiques dealers and purveyors of truly wonderous items. Visitors with a keen eye for quality may find some exceptional wares, and all who attend are sure to have a lively time as the city swells far beyond their normal population.
Fewer than 2,000 citizens call Beaford home, and despite the annual influx of coin, it is clear the town has seen better days. Accommodations that most would grade as "acceptable" fill up nearly instantly, with wealthier merchants either buying out entire taverns to sponsor festivities, or erecting luxurious pavilions in the scrublands outside of town. The clergy who come to Honeyfest tend to stick to their established temples and are scarcely without a contingent of knights to guard them should they go amongst the people. 
Tip: Haggling is a generally accepted, and often competitive, practice at Honeyfest. 
As any experienced traveler knows, massive gatherings in confined and unkempt places creates an unhygienic atmosphere.  Many revelers who've successfully managed to leave Beaford with coin and body in tact have nonetheless found themselves to come down with a case of Festival Flare-Up or other common ailment. It is for this reason that many say the most profitable business at Honeyfest are the clerics selling cures and wards to the highest bidders on the road leaving Beaford. 

In Popular Culture

In Tarsonis in the Wilderness: Across the Desert, the titular hero and his captors/companions came upon a pair of merchants who survived a brutal attack on their way to Honeyfest. The "heroes" helped right the cart and Tarsonis repaired their damaged wheel, but refused to help locate the beast that had escaped from the merchants' cart and was due to be delivered to one of the clergymen in Beaford. Several bards expanded on this nugget with a verse about orcs of the Kingdom of Many Arrows chasing a green dragon wyrmling in the nearby woods.

Local Celebrations

While the most famous honey-based celebration happens in Beaford, local festivals are frequently held in Inham (ML), Woodale (SR), and Tenautla (QA).
Inham factoid - Not yet unlocked
The Woodale festival has not been held these last three years since it is claimed a divine curse has settled over the Freya-dedicated town, with reports of strange shadows skulking through the streets at night. 
In Tenautla, the tropical climate allows a small community to produce copious amounts of honey.  It is said that in the persistent warmth, the bees growth far larger and more industrious than average, with claims of enormous hives showing a close bond between the bees and the native dwarves.