WESTERN BUREAU:
MORE THAN 5,000 persons crowded the Delveland Sports Complex on Sunday for the third staging of the Westmoreland Mango Festival. For those who believe the Graham mango is king of all mangoes, Delveland provided royal treatment.
Children and adults alike got the opportunity to sample different varieties of mangoes, ranging from the Puerto Rican Star, St. Julian (Julie), Ready and, of course, the Graham, the taste of which, according to Delveland residents, is superior to all other mangoes.
Mazie Campbell, a member of the Delveland United Citizens' Association who organised the festival, told The Gleaner that she was proud of the success the committee had achieved this year. She recalled that in past years, the turnout had been good. It was, therefore, no surprise that similar success had been repeated.
"The organising committee got a lot of support from various agencies and organisations like RADA and Jamaica National Building Society," Mrs. Campbell said. "This year, though, we did not get sponsorship so we had to go into our savings to stage the event."
The excitement of the patrons could hardly be contained, especially the children who swooped down on the displays, hungrily eyeing mangoes heaped high, wondering which to choose.
There was a multiplicity of tasty mango products to sample and to purchase.
The mango treats and recipes included mango sugar-free cookies, mango-potato pudding, mango stamina juice, mango fruit cake, mango dip, mango cheesecake.
While declining comment on the profitability of the festival, Ms. Campbell said, "We usually do very well because with the proceeds we built a basic school, with the assistance of Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and now we are going to fence the sports complex."
