Feb. 15, 2009 — The soulful strains of Eddie Russell's melancholy trumpet atop the rhythms of his Latin Quelbe Jazz Band carried through the misty air Sunday afternoon, as thousands flocked to the second day of St. Croix's annual Agrifest despite heavy morning showers, sporadic sprinkles and an iron-gray sky.
"I don't think the rain slowed things down much at all," said Norman Edwards Jr., fair treasurer.
The air was filled with a thousand aromas from the many types of foods being cooked and sold, the livestock pavilion, the wet grass, exotic plants and more, but cutting through and underlying it all was the enticing smell of roast pork.
"About 12 to 13,000 people came through the doors Saturday," Edwards said. "That's a little below last year's numbers. The crowd is huge, as you can see, but we won't know the count until sometime after we're done for the day. Sunday usually tops Saturday and Monday as the biggest day for the fair."
This is the 38th year for the three-day fair, which fills St. Croix hotels with visitors and draws thousands of residents every President's Day weekend. Visitors flock to the Estate Upper Love agriculture fair grounds to browse and shop at its farmers market, livestock pavilion and food pavilion. Loyal patrons come every year to find out who will win crop and livestock farmer of the year, see which animals will win awards, learn about St. Croix and Caribbean food traditions, listen to music and have an all-around good time.
In the afternoon, the air cleared and the sun made an appearance. Xpress Band took to the big stage and had a throng of their fans moving to their soca beat.
For many, the fair is an important celebration of St. Croix, Virgin Islands and Caribbean culture, focusing on traditional ties between the people and the land that provides sustenance.
"This is a part of my culture," said Joan Sealey of St. Croix. "I've been coming to the fair as long as I remember. You know, when we were kids, it was at Anna's Hope, where Human Services is. It was smaller then."
Some like to show their pride in their heritage in their clothing, incorporating a bit of madras here and there, as a wrap, in a skirt or blouse. Every year there is a Fair Wear competition where young ladies compete in their own home-sewn creations. And some, like St. Croix resident Ann Edney, sew their own outfits just to show pride, without competing.
"I make a different outfit every year," said Edney, who came in a snappy denim two-piece outfit with sections of bright green and white madras sewn into pants and blouse and adorning the tops of her shoes in matching little bows.
Every year there are competitions for making traditional foods and foods with local ingredients. Sunday was a sorrel drink competition.
Caribbean sorrel, or roselle, is an annual plant growing to about six feet. Once the plant's ivory-colored flowers bloom and wither, the sepals grow bigger, becoming quite fleshy and bright red, enveloping the seed pod. The fleshy red sepals are very tart and are used as fruits. The sepals become fully developed in December and January, making sorrel popular around Christmas. The closest flavor equivalent commonly available to folks in the States would probably be fresh cranberries or rose hips. Everybody's recipe for the drink is a little different, but most have a bit of a ginger bite and a lot of sugar along with the tart sorrel. Many put in orange peel and clove, too.
A panel of judges tasted the seven sorrel entries Sunday, taking small samples of each, like a wine tasting, sipping, spitting into a spittoon and drinking a little water before tasting the next. One dark-red entry with a bit more ginger kick than most was the clear favorite, though the tasting was blind and the judges did not know who made which drink.
At the end of the day, Eldridge Thomas's sorrel drink won first prize. Second prize went to Laverne Bates and third to Sonia Spencer.
Come to the fair Monday when the competition is for best dish made with carambola fruit.
Whoever you are and whatever your interests, there was something at the fair for you. Want to learn about healthy cooking? Evannie Jeremiah showed how to make vegetarian lentil and rice burgers with a fresh tomato sauce, handing out recipes to go along with the demonstration.
"We want to put the focus on fresh, healthy food," she said. "You can do this as a burger on a bun, or as a side dish at dinner."
Do your kids like animals? The livestock pavilion, named this year in honor of the V.I. Farmers' Cooperative, has chicken, rabbits, doves, goats, cattle and sheep. There's a petting zoo for the young ones and competition among the ranchers for prize animals.
Hungry? There are dozens of food booths lining the fair's main thoroughfare, with everything from candy apples to conch fritters. But for the connoisseur, inside the Gwendolyn Fludd Food Pavilion is kallaloo, peas and rice, salmon balls, traditional homemade candies, cakes and tarts and the best heaping plates of home-cooked Caribbean food.
Born on St. Thomas and raised on St. Croix, Fludd has served up hot food and baked goods at the fair since 1968, when she won a first-place ribbon for her sweet potato pudding. She's still going strong today and plans to keep coming back as long as her health permits.
This year the fair grounds are named in honor of Dale Mason, St. Croix Central class of 1972. Mason joined the Department of Agriculture as a heavy equipment operator, and worked there for many years. He served in the military for seven years, returning to Agriculture in 1995, serving in several roles, and retired as director of food production in 2004. Mason was director of food production from 2002 until his retirement in 2004.
Agriculture isn't the only focus of the fair. St. Croix Rescue had a demonstration vehicle-extraction exercise. Emergency Medical Technician Jason Henry went into a vehicle, putting cervical collars on two "victims" and covering them while his colleagues cut the roof off the car and moved them to litter boards for transportation.
"Besides helping with their immediate medical needs, the EMT is also in the vehicle to comfort the victims," said Liz Goggins of St. Croix Rescue.
The exercise gives rescue personnel a chance to hone their skills while simultaneously educating the public on the dangers of driving without a seatbelt and how to cooperate with rescuers in an emergency, said St. Croix Rescue Chief Gregory Richards.
Display booths and demonstrations went on all day featuring the University of the Virgin Islands, Hovensa, the V.I. Energy Office, solar-energy companies, the Health Department, Crime Stoppers and dozens of other groups, corporations, nonprofit organizations and government departments. There is no way to see everything in one day, and on Monday there will be more music, food and new demonstrations. In addition to the competition for best dish with carambola, Clint Ferris will show how to make fresh ice cream with native fruits and Annette and Carlos Francis will show how to cook some vegetarian meals.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
