The Breadfruit Festival is held annually in the month of August, and compliment the Emancipation Month activities as the breadfruit is associated with slavery.
The fruit was brought to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to feed the slaves, as it was a cheap source of food. Every weekend during August, the festival takes place in different communities throughout St. Vincent. Admission to the events is free. A variety of dishes made from breadfruit are exhibited, and Vincentians and visitors are encouraged to support the farmers and to eat local.
The dishes include but are not limited to breadfruit cheese pie, breadfruit puff, pizza, lasagna, breadsticks, quiche, sweet and sour candy (blossom). There are also breadfruit drinks available.
Local cultural activities are also part of the festival, they include dancing, drumming, and performances by calypsonians among others. Hoteliers and restaurateurs are encouraged to utilize the breadfruit in meal preparation during the month of August.
St Vincent and the Grenadines boast over 25 different varieties of breadfruit, the fruit forms part of the country’s national dish of roasted breadfruit and fried jack fish.
