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Cashew Festival
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When:
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May 2008 (annual)
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Where:
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Crooked Tree Village
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| Costs: |
Free
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| Opening Hours: |
All day
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Belize may not be self-sufficient for food yet, but it's doing pretty well on the cashew front. The best cashews of all are celebrated each May during the Cashew Festival at Crooked Tree Village, in the centre of a lagoon in a wildlife sanctuary.
Corozal is known for its marvellous bird life, mango trees, breadfruit and, of course, cashews. On soil deemed to be the most perfect in the world for cultivating cashew trees, they grow so laden with fruit that in freak storms they have been known to topple over - and still keep growing!
The cashew tree provides fruit as well as nuts, succulent, very sweet and juicy numbers that are made into jam, jelly and wine, vinegar, preserves and even pastries. The nuts themselves grow on the outside of the fruit and have to be carefully cooked for hours before they are palatable, which is why they tend to be so expensive in most of our home countries.
The Cashew Festival, traditionally held in the first weekend in May each year, celebrates Crooked Tree's favourite product and local village life. There is live punt music, conspicuous consumption of a variety of delicious Caribbean dishes, lots of local games and the telling of stories.
An addition to the fun is the crowning of a Cashew Queen. The tendency of Belizeans to create pageant queens is rather remarkable and agricultural products number amongst their favourite subjects - you can find Sugar Queens, Citrus Queens and, of course, a Miss Agriculture.
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