2018 Heritage Festival to Focus on the Breadfruit

The October 2018 Heritage Festival will feature several varieties of the Jamaican breadfruit plant.

In an interview with JIS News at the recent 2017 Heritage Festival held at the offices of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) in downtown Kingston, Executive Director of the IOJ, Vivian Crawford, said the institute will be celebrating the fruit because of its historical significance.

“It is going to be a significant anniversary of the arrival of the breadfruit plant in Jamaica… . We are going to have a Breadfruit Fest, so get ready for fried, boiled and roasted breadfruit,” he said.

In a JIS publication, ‘Our Culinary Heritage’, reprinted in 2003, the book states that the first breadfruit procured from the South Pacific was brought to Jamaica in 1793 by Captain William Bligh on the HMS Providence.

The breadfruit was to form a cheap source of food for the large number of slaves who worked on the island’s plantations. This year’s festival highlighted the 145th anniversary of Kingston as Jamaica’s capital.

Now in its fourth year, Mr. Crawford said the festival has grown over the years.

This year’s event involved hundreds of children, who were taken on guided tours to various exhibitions at the National Gallery and the museums, and participated in activities such as a concert, cultural drumming, multicultural displays and the Kingston City Bus Tour. Visitors also enjoyed Jamaican cuisine and local herbs, and visited a farmers’ market and pop-up shops with craft items.

Mr. Crawford lauded the support received from private- and public-sector entities in hosting the festival and promoting the city of Kingston.

He said the event was facilitated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, and police officers who worked on the streets near the institute.

Some of the main sponsors were the Jamaica Business Development Corporation, AIM Financial Corporation Limited, Cal’s, GraceKennedy, TVJ, JIS, CVM TV, Gleaner, NewsTalk 93, Linstead

Market, Jamaica Biscuit Company, LASCO, Shalk Electronic Security Limited and Pepsi-Cola Jamaica.

He praised the law firm Myers Fletcher & Gordon on East Street for offering their parking spaces during the event, and other services to the IOJ from time to time.

Heritage Festival is an annual event hosted by the IOJ, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.