ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The annual Honeybee Festival will be rescheduled to Dec. 2, the same day as the Robertsdale Christmas Parade, officials said during the Robertsdale Council meeting Oct. 16.

Melissa Vaughn with the Central Baldwin Education Foundation spoke at the meeting and the council granted unanimous approval to move the festival, which was canceled Oct. 7 because of the threat of Hurricane Nate in the Gulf of Mexico.

Vaughn said the festival and the annual Honeybee 5K and 1-mile run/walk would be rescheduled to Dec. 2 and would be done by the time of parade lineup at 4:30 p.m.

The parade, which is sponsored by the Robertsdale Rotary Club in conjunction with the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, will roll through the streets as planned beginning at 6:30, followed by photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus in Honeybee Park following the parade.

This is the second time the festival has not been held as planned in its more than 30-year history, the first time since the CBEF took over the festival six years ago.

The festival was a fundraiser for the Robertsdale Volunteer Fire Department for more than 10 years, but was canceled seven years ago due to a “lack of funding,” according to reports at the time.

The Honeybee 5K and 1-mile run/walk, which was started eight years ago by the CBEF and continued through the transition, was also canceled Oct. 7, as well as several other planned events surrounding the festival, including the Gulf Coast Jeep Show, the Honeybee Festival Firefighter Challenge, a fundraiser for the CBEF and Robertsdale Fire Department Explorers, the “Cornhole For Keaton” tournament, a fundraiser for Robertsdale High School student Keaton Krebs.

There has been no word as to whether any other events surrounding the festival will be rescheduled.

The Central Baldwin Education Foundation was formed in 2008 with the help of the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, as a way to support Robertsdale High School and its feeder schools, including the South Baldwin Center for Technology, Central Baldwin Middle School and the area’s six elementary schools, Robertsdale, Loxley, Silverhill, Summerdale, Elsanor and Rosinton schools.

In 2009, the CBEF began giving out grants to qualifying teachers at the various schools. Grants have also been given to fund tutoring programs for local schools and the organization has also given scholarships to local students.

For more information visit the Central Baldwin Education Foundation’s page on Facebook or visit cbef.org.

In other business Oct. 16, the council:

•Donated $2,000 to the Robertsdale High School basketball team in support of its annual Thanksgiving tournament.

•Approved a sign renewal request from the Central Christian School Athletic Booster Club in the amount of $150.

•Approved a request from St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and School to use the city’s digital billboard to promote the annual Christmas Bazaar Dec. 1-3.

•Approved the purchase of property in Robertsdale in the amount of $120,000, using the city’s reserve account for a cash transaction.