FRUITS BY THE RIVERSITE... UNIQUE EVENT CELEBRATES GOA'S DIVERSITY By Miguel Braganza [email protected]
Later today -- for it is past midnight in Goa already -- fresh fruits such as mango, jack, papaya, pineapple, kokum-binnd'na and the like will be brought to the promenade near the Art Park opposite the Entertainment Society of Goa office (old Goa Medical College Hospital) for competitions. This is the pre-inauguration competition. The Konkan Fruit Fest event 2011 will be inaugurated on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 10.30 A.M. The inaugural function is open to all. No invitations are being printed. It is a community event. The event is free and open to public. If you would like to support the Botanical Society of Goa, enroll as a Life Member. It will increase our strength two ways: (1) By increasing the membership base and (2) By boosting the bank balance to pay for the event. Sponsorships are not easy to come by when one wants to conserve Goa and its greenery. It is our conviction that we must do what we can and not worry about what others do that drives us on. If you believe in the same, join us. GOACAN has added value to the event this year. So has the Tiatr Academy of Goa. The Department of Science, Technology & Environment, the Directorate of Agriculture, Corporation of the City of Panjim and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Goa have been with us since the start and so has the Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurla, the Western Ghats Kokum Foundation and Ravimangal Agro. The People's Movement for Civic Action (PMCA) has added value to the event in its very first year and we hope to have the support of all community-based organizations now. Below is a report from the local media: http://www.oheraldo.in/news/Local%20News/Konkan-Fruit-Fest-from-April-28/47687.html Two days later, the promenade along River Mandovi from Panjim Market onwards will be hive of activity with people thronging to see and taste rare fruits of the Konkan region. Yes, the Konkan Fruit Fest 2011 is happening again after a gap of three years. Botanical Society of Goa (BSG) will host a four day fruit fest to be inaugurated on April 28 in the city with active participation from Agriculture Department of Goa, Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) Old Goa, Vengurla-based Regional Fruit Station and Dr B S Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeet -- Dapoli and the University of Agriculture Research at Dharwad and Bangalore. The KFF was huge success when it first came to be organized in 2003 as it provided a rare opportunity to taste varied varieties of mangoes and other seasonal fruits which are otherwise not available in the market. However, since 2008 BSG was unable to organize it. But this weekend people can look forward to feast on fruits with about twenty stalls selling fruits and juices. When contacted Miguel Braganza, Secretary of BSG, said they intend to have on display at least sixty-five varieties of mangoes, four-five type of cashews and other fruits. People will also get to taste fruits such as chirputa (physalis) sweet karmala (star fruit), dhavi sola (made from vomt fruit). There will be also participation by Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) which will demonstrate how to ripen fruits. The GOACAN, an organization of consumer activists, will also be part of the fest, he said. Besides, Chorao Farmers Club is likely to make huge impact as it will have sale of two varieties of mangoes -- sakari and mancurad. They will put on sale 1000 sakari and 1000 Mancurad mangoes and with proper packing done, added Braganza. Another attraction of the fest is fruit eating competition. LINKS: Botanical Society of Goa mailing list (free to join) http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bsg-goa/
