International Mango Festival At Fairchild Botanical Garden

We have been to several festivals in the area as well as another gardens. This was one of my favorite festivals as well as gardens. My disappointment with the other gardens is it just looked like it could have been any nicely landscaped park anywhere in Florida. There was little that was distinctive or unique. As well, the festivals seem to have the same sort of vendors at any festival (whatever the festival type), and the corresponding activities at times don’t seem very imaginative. It seems like you are basically paying for the same experience over and over again; I usually feel a little regret when I leave. Fairchild on the other hand had something special to offer for the festival as well as the grounds.
It probably helps that I love mangoes so that helps me to be on the right track to loving this festival. One of my favorite parts of the festival was the mango trying room. They had a row of different mangoes to try where you could rate your top three varieties. It was so fun to see how different they can be. I also loved the mangoes for sell, especially that the mango types were written on the actual mango so that you can remember what you bought. I gave up trying to get all the varieties because I am a mango novice, and there were too many varieties to buy.
I loved that the food vendors and gift vendors tried to stick to the mango theme. Like I said, I hate when you show up at a festival, and it is the same vendors selling the same stuff as always.
I enjoyed the Whole Foods talk about beers even if it was only relatively related to mangoes. The Schnebly wine booth was fun; I have been meaning to get down there for a while anyways, so it gave me a taste of what they had to offer.
Overall the programming was superb, and the volunteers extremely knowledgeable. We talked to a great volunteer named Dick for a long time.
Lastly, there were mango trees to sell of carefully picked varieties. There were knowledgeable people to help you pick the right one for your space as well as your liking.
I can’t wait to get back to other festivals at Fairchild!!!

So many mangoes!
Seriously, how have I nor others reviewed this event yet? It’s only Fairchild’s biggest, best most delicious festival of the year! We look forward to the ‘Black Friday of Mangos’ like it is nobody’s business. Each year we endure heat, humidity and sometimes even rain and mud, all for the mutual love of mangoes.
Last year, my discovery of Karen’s Kreations made Mango Festival even a little sweeter, because these mango jams are out of hand! I purchased both this year and last, the mango/​strawberry, the mango/​guava and the berrymango jams. I devour all three in a matter of weeks, and I have no shame in that.
I do wish that some of more shade tents were provided, to help keep cool in the July sun, but living in South Florida we just have to kind of suck it up and deal with it.