Nov. 21, 2008 — The grounds of the University of the Virgin Islands Reichhold Center for the Arts will be alive this weekend with the 26h annual St. Thomas-St. John Agriculture and Food Fair — "Fuel and Food Debate: Support Agriculture 2008" — Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
And, if you want to pick up some prize plants and produce early, you can come as early as 8 a.m., said Carlos Robles, vice president of the Agriculture Fair committee.
Robles himself is a traditional figure at the annual celebration. He has missed only two of the last 26, when he was attending graduate school on the mainland. He remembered the first fair behind the old College of the V.I. fieldhouse under the thick canopy of trees.
"We had about 3,000 people come even then," he said. He anticipates about 3,200 this year.
New this year will be the Home Gardener of the year, along with produce and possibly meat from the V.I. Farmers Cooperative from St. Croix. For the second year, the St. Thomas-St. John Woodworkers Association presents works by its members.
The awards ceremony begins at 2 p.m. with prizes for Crop Farmer of the Year and Livestock Farmer of the Year. Cash prizes will be awarded from Fintrac, one of the fair's sponsors.
Of course, the fair also will be brimming with all the good things it is known for: pies, cakes, fresh eggs, all manner of produce, pates and plants. The aisles will be filled with jams, jellies, stewed pork, maubi and other local drinks, sweetbreads, tarts and pumpkins.
If you want to know how to graft a plant or to tag an animal, go to the educational displays and workshops from the Department of Agriculture, the UVI Cooperative Extension Service, the V.I. Energy Office, and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, all located in white tents toward the front of the fairgrounds.
The Department of Health will offer free lectures and health screenings from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, where flu shots will also be available.
Music will sound throughout the day, by the BCB Burning Blazers, the Rising Stars Steel Band, the Mungo Niles Dancers and the J.D.P.P. Jammers.
Admission is $2 for adults, and $1 for children 12 and under. For more information, call 693-1080.
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