NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (June 30, 2023)- Nevis will be abuzz with excitement this weekend as the activities kick off for the highly anticipated Nevis Tourism Authority’s (NTA) Mango Festival 2023.

The 9^th edition of the festival was launched on Friday, June 30, at the Dew Drops Restaurant in Westbury. Mr. Pheon Jones, Director of Sales and Marketing at the NTA, chaired the event and introduced this year’s celebrity host, Jamaican social media personality Juliet “Julie Mango” Bodley. He also introduced the festival’s celebrity chef Tayo Ola, who hosted a chef demo and master class during the launch event.

Chef Tayo has been in the international culinary space for over a decade and said he is excited to be in Nevis and is looking forward to experiencing as much of the island’s offerings as he can.

Premier Hon. Mark Brantley, Minister of Tourism in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA,) extended an invitation to all of Nevis and St. Kitts to participate in the activities and celebrate one of the world’s sweetest fruits, the mango.

“I want to encourage one and all to come out and be a part of it. I particularly want to encourage our brothers and sisters from St. Kitts to come over. The water taxis are all offering for the weekend for persons to come over,” he said.

Following the launch event on Friday, there was a Mango Festival Open Day at the Indian Castle Fruit Orchard featuring mango tasting, mango eating competition, a mixologist competition, and a mango ‘treasure’ hunt. On Friday evening there was a mango cocktail bar crawl on Pinneys Beach.

On Saturday, July 01, there will be a Taste of Nevis Food Tour which will take participants all across the island to various restaurants. Also on Saturday, celebrity chefs will be cooking an array of tasty mango-infused dishes at the Mount Nevis Hotel starting at 6:30 p.m.

The Mango Festival culminates on Sunday, July 02 with a grand finale event, “For the Love of Mangoes” at the Malcolm Guishard Recreational (MGR) Park starting at 1 p.m. The event will feature a wellness zone, mango one on one, kids zone, and chefs samples of mango-themed dishes. Chefs from across Nevis will also compete to make the best mango-inspired dish, which will be judged by Chef Tayo. Local performers and cultural groups will provide live entertainment.

Tickets for the Nevis Mango Festival 2023 are available at nevismangofest.com/events-2023