The Annual St.Croix Agricultural and Food Fair draws crowds and exhibitors from all over the Caribbean. Many bring along the products of their island nations.
This photo section will show you more of the activities available at the fair. For more plant pictures, please see the 2006 Agricultural Fair section.
As permanent displays go, added to the wood-fired outdoor oven built last year, there is now an old-time variety store as well as an old-time house equip with a pussa. Don't know what that is? Check out the pictures.

At the entrance people were coming and going with their purchases of plants.

This booth was exhibiting local plants such as bougainvillea.

And this booth had for sale, produce of all types, grown right here on St. Croix.

Schools are allowed to participate in the fair and this school had one of the best displays of the year.

The Boy Scouts had their Scout Master on hand to educate passers by about scouting.

These folks are looking at the winning cattle and other livestock.

Among the many animals on exhibit, were of course, these excellent bovine examples. Senepol cattle are the reddish brown ones. This breed was created here on St. Croix and is now found all over the world.

	Here is an emu, looking at you!

This goat is a breed being bred on St. Croix. This breeding stock is now becoming popular on the island.

Other animals were dogs and cats from the St. Croix Animal Shelter, rabbits and donkeys. The donkeys didn't seem to mind if people wanted to pet them or feed them. They loved it!

There were lots of activities and shows. Under the big green tent was this Gospel Extravaganza.

	To get to the other side of the fair there were several options. One could take the trolley or maybe the pony express.

If you chose to walk, there were lots of other sights to see. Walking to the food pavillion, you must first pass the food booths. On this promenade, you might see friends you haven't seen for a long time, or just saw yesterday!

Along the way, we spotted this happy couple. Later we met these young ones with their grannie.

Crossing the bridge to the food pavillion comes next.

Immediately after the bridge, there is Armstrong's Ice Cream. An icon of St. Croix's recent history.

Music was then playing at the East stage. There were drums and dances of the Sankofa Dancers. The dance is part of the African culture, hundreds of years old and passed down through the generations. Bamboula is one of the many styles of African dance, though not necessarily this one.

	A few more fair goers, some in beautiful garments.

The door of the stone oven where the bread of the day will be baked.

And the baker in action,giving instructions on how to make "Titi" bread, a local breakfast staple.

The old time store. It is the yellow building. Picture three shows Crucian baskets of the traditional woven style. Also a dried salt fish or herring hanging from the rafters. Picture four shows odds and ends of another age; top left is a clay coal pot on the shelf, lanterns on the wall, cut cloth and food canteens among them. Picture five shows the "trust" book and the scale. If you didn't have the money right away, you could be extended a line of credit or the storekeeper would "trust you" some items. The record would be written in the book along with other tallies, since there were no cash registers or calculators in those days.

At the shop, there were always two more features. The boxed cheese - a huge wheel of cheese that would be cut for you in increments of 1/4 pound or more and the Danish sausage - dry and slick on your tongue.

Back outdoors, there was more music from Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights playing Quelbe the national music of the Virgin Islands. And more dancing.

	Then, it was time to head to the Food Pavillion (finally) to get some Crucian cooking.

Warm greetings awaited those entering the food pavillion, courtesy of Miss University of the Virgin Islands 2004-2005.

In the food pavillion people clamored for food from the best cooks. There were specialties such as: Souse and Potato Salad, Kallalloo and Fungi, Conch in Butter Sauce with Provisions, Pates of various kinds, Chicken legs and Johnny Cakes, Stewed Goat, Roast Pork with Rice and Beans, Goat Water, Fried Fish, and Salmon Balls, Arroz con Pollo, Bacalaitos and Smoked Barbecue Beef to name a few. For dessert there was Vienna Cake, Cream Cake, Danish Pound Cake, coconut drops, lozenges, dundesla, peppermint candy, and black cake among the offerings. Some of the drinks which were locally made were: passionfruit, tamarind, peanut punch, sea moss, lime-aid, or coconut water, cold and straight out of the coconut itself!

And then with a selection of goodies in hand, it was time to find seating and shelter to eat under one of the magnificent mango trees on the fairgrounds.

	It was,then,time to take in some cultural dancing. The Quadrille, a French square dance demonstrated here by the St. Croix Heritage Dancers, came to the island during the time of the plantations. The African decendants have kept it alive to this day. The moves are called out, balance, tourne, ladies alone, etc., and the dancers weave in and out to the sounds of the scratch band known as a Quelbe band. It is good to see that one young fellow found the whole dance to be truly fascinating!

This African inspired West Indian outfit looks wonderful on this young lady, complete with headdress.

Hibiscus flowers on display.

Lastly, we come to the Old Time village house. The village house was a small house decorated at times, like this one, with bright photographs out of catalogues and magazines, as a sort of wallpaper. The billowing curtain, a familiar feature, hung in the doorways between rooms and to the outdoors as privacy screens. These rooms are filled with mementos of the past. There is a press or chifferobe for clothes and a safe or larder, a room temperature refrigerator of sorts and a place to put things away for safe keeping. The kitchen was a far cry from the kitchens of today.

A very old wringer washing machine.

Now, outside the Old Time house, we find on the porch, the pussa. It is leaned up against the house on the left. It is a makeshift boat used for fishing. Now you know.