June 27, 20007 — Virgin Islanders will celebrate the territory's bounty at the 11th annual Mango Melee and Tropical Fruit Festival, coming up from noon to 6:30 p.m. July 1 at the St. George Village Botanical Garden.
Mango Melee is "St. Croix’s most-popular summer festival, drawing thousands of residents and visitors to the Botanical Garden’s 16-acre property," organizers say, according to a news release.
This year, the Department of Agriculture’s Errol Chichester relinquished the chairman position to UVI’s Stafford Crossman, a longtime member of the committee. Chichester will continue in his invaluable role for the festival in collecting fruits for display — and auction at the end of the day — from his neighbors and friends across the island.
“Things look very, very favorable for a good mango crop this year,” Chichester said.
In addition to featuring scores of different varieties of mangoes, this year’s festival will highlight bananas and plantains. Workshops on mango production, banana cultivation and the many ways of using bananas will be held in the new pavilion at the Bodine Visitors’ Center throughout the day.
There will be samples of juices made from local fruits to taste and, of course, the ever-popular mango-eating contest, with this year's competition divided into separate categories for children and adults.
For more information, call the garden at 692-2874.
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