All the fun of the ‘farm’ at the annual Ag fair

(CNS): With just three weeks to go preparations for this year’s Agriculture Shows are well underway, officials from the ministry said this week. The Grand Cayman show is in its 45th year and offers an opportunity for everyone to find out what’s going on in Cayman’s farming community. From keeping chickens to major life stock farming the event show cases a variety of agricultural related issues and products as well as traditional arts, crafts and local foods. This year’s shows take place on Ash Wednesday, 22 February on Grand Cayman and Saturday, 25 February on Cayman Brac and Saturday, 25 March on Little Cayman.

There will be many activities inside the Agriculture Pavilion in Lower Valley. One of the new attractions this year will be an interactive tent where farmers will engage the public with talks about what is happening in the farming community and provide backyard farming tips.

A Youth Services Culinary Competition – for children aged 10 to 14 who have been attending cooking camps held by the Youth Services Department and taught by one of the chefs at the Ritz-Carlton – will end with a cook-off and  cooking demonstration.
Alongside the farm animal showcase there will be Pony rides, line dancing demonstration, a rodeo show from the Equestrian Society, the Beautiful Baby Competition and a wide variety of other cultural entertainment.

The Cayman Islands Agriculture Show, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Ministry of Agriculture and corporate sponsors A.L. Thompson and LIME, is the largest event family event on all three islands.

“We are committed to the farmers in the Cayman Islands,” said the agricultural minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. “My administration fully supports the three shows which bring together the farming community, entrepreneurs sponsors and the public, in general. I would like to encourage the public to attend, support our local farmers and have lots of fun in the process.”

There are two types of tickets for the show. General admission – adults $10 and $5 for kids, aged two to 12. Raffle tickets cost $25 with a grand prize of $20,000 and allow general admission to the show. Tickets outlets: Funky Tangs, AL Thompson’s, Agriculture Society members, Seymour’s Jerk Chicken, Welly’s Cool Spot,Blue Marlin, Meringue Town and Cayman Coating. 

On Cayman Brac General admission is $10; Children 11 and up $4; Raffle tickets, which allow entry are $10; Grand prize is US$2,500.

For more information, log on to the Cayman Islands Agriculture Society website at www.cisa.ky and the society’s Facebook page.