After weeks of preparation, all the nails are hammered, the murals painted, the tents in place and everything’s ready for this weekend’s 39th annual agricultural extravaganza called V.I. Agrifest.
As always, there will be music, contests, all kinds of corporate and government displays, a petting zoo, the freshest produce and lots and lots of food.
Clarice Clarke, director of UVI’s Agricultural Extension Service, has been the lead organizer for the fest for a number of years now. "Each year we try to make it a little different," Clarke said Thursday, wiping white paint off her hands to talk for a moment about this year’s offerings.
"One thing I think is kind of exciting this year is, over in the cultural area a vendor is setting up a waterslide," she said. "I think a lot of the kids might like that."
This year’s theme for the fair is "Healthy Food and a Safe Environment Make Sense."
"If you plant a garden at home, you will save money on your food budget, and you’ll be eating much fresher, healthier food," Clarke said, giving an example of how healthy food makes sense and saves money.
There are going to be three stages with music throughout the festival, and several St. Thomas and St. John bands are coming over to be part of the entertainment, along with St. Croix’s popular soca, salsa and steel pan bands, she said.
As every year, there will be unusual food demonstrations, showcasing both local ingredients and culturally significant recipes.
"We always try to put something in not eaten all year, which has roots in our history and culture but which young people may not know about," Clarke said.
This year, Louise Samuel will show how to make "horse shoe."
"It is a crisp, crunchy pastry with sugar sprinkles in the shape of a horse shoe," she said. "It was popular in the early ’30s and ’40s but isn’t seen as much these days."
Evannie Jeremiah will be showing how to make a breadfruit cheese pie, too.
"A lot of folks have a tree or two in their yard, and this is a different way to use that local produce," she said. "We did a taste test Tuesday and, you know, it was pretty good."
Clint Ferris will be doing his ever-popular demo on how to make ice cream and sherbet using native fruits, too.
There will be all sorts of thing for young people to do besides eat and go on the waterslide. In the UVI tent, the 4-H club is putting on interactive, educational activities. Some will focus on household chemicals and safety. In one, kids will be guided through several chemical reactions to make some silly-putty-like "goop."
"We will be talking about what sorts of things can happen if you mix household chemicals without knowing what you have," said Sarah Dahl-Smith, youth director for the Agriculture Department. Making the goop, the kids will learn about the hazards of chemicals, while making a mess with very safe, non-toxic materials.
"It’s messy and fun, and the kids can take it with them," Smith said.
Another interactive activity demonstrates fermentation of cellulose and making of biofuels, she said. The kids will try to hypothesize which system will produce enough gas to blow up a balloon first, making a game out of a science experiment, she said. And they will be making tie-dye shirts with natural, plant-based dyes, again making something the kids get to keep.
But these interactive activities are just the tip of the iceberg at the fair. They have a backyard-sized aquaponics kit, raising fresh fish and using the water to feed large-leaf King Kang spinach. Every day at 2 p.m. they will be serving up Thai spinach stir fry, spinach quiche and spinach salad with sorrel vinaigrette, made from spinach, sorrel and herbs from their garden.
4-H kids, Boy Scouts and other youth groups are setting up elaborately decorated hay bales and other arts and crafts projects for competition. Sunday will be a kids’ "rodeo" with clowns and games like sack races, obstacle races and an egg toss. The petting zoo will feature local breeds like Senepol cattle and white-haired sheep; and 4-H will give talks on animal husbandry and other farming topics.
Over 170 vendors and demonstration booths will be at the fest this year. And dignitaries from all over the Caribbean will be on hand for Saturday’s opening ceremonies. A representative of the CARICOM organization will be there, along with dignitaries from Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Martin and Antigua, and of course, the British Virgin Islands, Clarke said.
Every year, the fairgrounds and each pavilion are renamed to honor important people involved in agriculture, cooking and supporting the annual agrifest. This year, the fairgrounds are named for Otis Hicks, a retired St. Croix teacher who was instrumental in the local chapter of Future Farmers of America.
The farmer’s market is named for Aberra Bulbulla, a UVI professor and four-time winner of farmer of the year. The animal pavilion is named for Dr. Duke Deller, a veterinarian who is retired from the Agriculture Department, while the food pavilion takes the name of noted local pastry and candy maker Laverne Bates.
The festival will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with opening ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children and $4 for seniors. Agrifest 2010 posters and programs are $5, and T-shirts will be $12. Complete event, demonstration and music schedules, plus much more information can be found at the Agrifest 2010 website: http://www.viagrifest.org/index.php.
