HAGUE, Trelawny — Even though six members of the organising group have died since the last show, the annual Hague Agricultural and Livestock show will get underway on March 4 and 5 of this year.

In what some have described as a bizarre sequence of events, six members of the Trelawny Association of Branch Societies — a Jamaica Agricultural Society-affiliated body — have passed away since last February.

They include the show’s committee chairman and former Long Pond general manager, Bert Gordon, who died of cancer last November. His death sent shock waves throughout the parish’s agricultural sector, as well as in neighbouring parishes, where he was well known for his long and dedicated service to the industry.

Gordon served as show committee chairman for over a decade, during and after his tenure as Long Pond’s general manager.

Lloyd Cooke, brother of governor general Howard Cooke, former beekeeper and principal of the Falmouth All Age School, also passed away during that fourth-quarter period.

George Webb, another long-standing society member had died earlier in the year while Ethel Guthrie and former Falmouth mayor Osmond Hillocks, died toward the latter part of the year.

And just when the surviving TABS members thought that death had taken a break, news came last week, on February 6, that another member, Noel Stubbs, had died. His death comes just a month before the staging of this year’s show.

But despite the dwindling in the numbers of the members of the organising body, plans for the 2003 staging of the show are well advanced under the chairmanship of former North Trelawny Member of Parliament, Desmond Leaky. The two-day event will begin on Tuesday, March 4 and culminate on Ash Wednesday, March 5 at its regular venue, the Hague show grounds.

With a budget of $1-million, the show is expected to showcase even more agricultural products than previous years. The miniset farming procedure, used successfully to grow yams especially for the export market, will be on display. Attractions will include a canine competition, show jumping, coconut husking, the crowning of a farming queen, an entertainment package and several other events.

Tuesday night’s gospel show, now growing in popularity, will feature gospel stalwarts Sandra Brooks, Joan Fleming, Lester Lewis and several other performers.

Wednesday night’s line-up includes Captain Barkey and Wickerman, Mad Anju, Cecile, Fire Lion and several upcoming artistes from Trelawny and neighbouring parishes. Fab Five band will provide music. As is the norm, no imported products will be allowed at the show as the committee continues its ‘eat what we grow’ campaign, this year under the theme “Improving Agriculture Through Technology”.