Backyard Beekeeping, Board Games: The Latest Hobby Trends in Brevard County and Around the World
By Space Coast Daily // May 26, 2023
Backyard beekeeping is all the rage in Brevard County. The county’s two beekeeping clubs – the Brevard Backyard Beekeepers in Cocoa, and the South Brevard Beekeepers in Melbourne – boast several hundred members between them.
Not only is beekeeping rewarding, it’s also an affordable hobby with low start-up costs, which is why it’s also popular around the world. In addition to beekeeping, gambling, and board games are two other hobbies gaining traction locally and further afield.
An affordable, low-maintenance hobby
“We started when we lived in California and picked it up again when we moved to Florida”, says Brenna Sorensen, referring to the backyard hive she owns with her husband in West Melbourne. Their hive is home to around 20,000 to 30,000 bees that produce copious amounts of honey they share with family, friends, and neighbors. Legally, backyard beekeepers are required to register their hives with the state (costing $10 a year), and Sorensen says they sometimes have to purchase a new queen (around $30). All in all, it’s a low-cost and low-maintenance hobby. Naturally, Aussies are even joining in the fun – backyard beekeeping is a booming sector in Australia worth $173.5 million (AUD) annually. In the past five years, the number of recreational beekeepers in the country soared to 28,000, up from 23,000.
Gambling on the rise
So, aside from beekeeping, what other hobbies are popular globally? Gambling. New Zealanders, for example, are increasingly taking up this potentially-lucrative pastime – 70% of residents in New Zealand aged 15+ engage in gambling-related activities. Online gambling is particularly popular for the flexibility and convenience offered. Gamblers can play whenever they want from the comfort of their own homes. When it comes to finding the best online casino NZ, gamblers are spoilt for choice. PlayOJO, for instance, offers over 300 live dealer tables, over 4,700 online pokies, and 80 zero-wager free spins. Elsewhere, gambling is also a popular trend in the U.S. In fact, Americans spent a record-breaking amount of money on gambling in 2022 – $54.93 billion. Slots and table games were the most popular method, generating $43 billion in revenue, followed by sports betting ($83 billion).
Board games make a comeback
“Games started gaining popularity in the years leading up to the pandemic”, says James Zahn, the editor-in-chief of trade magazine The Toy Book. “Board game bars and cafes had been popping up around the country and attendance at major games conventions was increasing”. And, during the pandemic, people continued to purchase card and tabletop games – a trend that’s continued to this very day. “There’s been this uptick in people realizing that board games are so much more than Monopoly and [Clue] and Scrabble and [Settlers of] Catan,” explains Tom Brewster, a writer for Shut Up & Sit Down, a UK-based game reviews website. Although classic games still have their place, modern, innovative games like Wingspan and Unstable Unicorns are increasingly popular.
A good hobby can boost your mood, relationships, and overall quality of life. Backyard beekeeping, gambling, and board games are some of the latest hobbies taking Brevard County and the wider world by storm.
