Lauriston-Thompson Pen 4-H Stew Festival a hit
Published:Saturday | November 19, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer
LAURISTON, St Catherine:
THE MENU was long and varied - stewed rabbit, stewed duck, stewed chicken, stewed mango, stewed guava, stewed pineapple, stewed jackfruit, stewed melon - and the list goes on.
However, what seemed to be a hit among patrons who attended the fifth staging of the Lauriston-Thompson Pen 4-H Clubs' Stew Festival, held recently in Thompson Pen was the stewed rabbit.
"Is the first time I'm having it - stew rabbit and bread. It really tastes good. I will recommend it to anyone," Bertland Grant, a resident of Kingston, told The Gleaner.
This was pleasing to Shian Christie, leader and founder of the 14-year-old club, who spearheaded the day's activities.
"Over the years, the festival has been going on good. This year is the biggest so far," a proud Christie told The Gleaner.
One of the primary activities of the 107-registered-members organisation is in the area of training.
"Some of the areas we train young people in are agriculture, entrepreneurship, home economics, visual arts, and art and craft," Christie pointed out.
Recruit members
Twenty-year-old Tashine Charles, 4-H club president and third-year student at Shortwood Teachers' College, said the festival was more than just a fund-raiser.
"While the Stew Festival is a fund-raiser, we also use it to let people know about the club and what it does. We also recruit members, and it is a way to give back to the community as well," Charles told The Gleaner.
And in addition to the entertainment package, giveaways, rides for children, and the number of agencies that exhibited their products and services, one of the main attractions was the Celebrity Cook-off.
The start of the event was delayed, however, by the refusal of representatives of the People's National Party to participate if Sharon Hay-Webster, South Central St Catherine member of parliament (MP) - who crossed the floor to join the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on October 31 - was going to be competing.
Hay-Webster indicated that she did not want to put a damper on the festival and left. Keisha Lewis, councillor, Lauriston division, Hermine Wilson, teacher, Windward Road Primary and Junior High School, Natalie Neita-Headley, MP East Central St Catherine, and Private Frederick Beckford, Jamaica Defence Force, lined up for the competition.
In the end, Beckford walked away with the top prize for his dish labelled 'The Power Dish'.
Chief adjudicator Alicia Fulton, home economics coordinator, Eastern Region, Jamaica 4-H Clubs, explained how the participants were judged.
"The participants were given 45 minutes to create a quick meal, and the major points they were awarded on were creativity, presentation, management and skills, economical and nutritional value," she explained.
The Stew Festival was also slated as one of the activities on the St Catherine Social Development Commission's calendar to celebrate November as Community Month.