According to Arona Fahie-Forbes, the objective is to highlight innovative ways for consuming local fruits of the Virgin Islands. Photo: VINO/File

Vendors display mangoes at last year's festival. Photo: VINO/File

Speaking last evening, July 4, 2013 on the Umoja radio show about the Festival, which also has a poetry competition attached, Forbes said there will be a competition for the breadfruit drink and mango bread at the festival.

The event scheduled for July 12, 2013 and which will be open to the general public at the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park, will begin at 10 A.M. and run until 6 P.M.

According to Fahie-Forbes, the objective is to highlight innovative ways for consuming local fruits of the Virgin Islands. “It is a means whereby you can have the general public, including our agricultural producers, providing economic opportunities for [themselves] whereby they can produce different products made from tropical fruits and put it up for sale.”

She explained that the exercise will create both an educational and economic opportunity. There is still an opportunity for late registrants to contact the Department to register for the bread and drink competition.

Judges are expected to begin judging on competition day by 11 A.M. and will be looking for originality, flavour, presentation and labelling for the mango bread; the breadfruit drink will see contestants competing for points on flavour, consistency, colour and the container used to present the drink.

The closing date for applications for the poetry competition has passed and entries will be judged on Monday.

The competition will focus on the love and cultural values of the mango and other fruits and will feature entries from persons aged 12 and under, between 13-17, and persons above the age of 17.