HAGUE, Trelawny – An estimated 12,000 patrons turned out for the 49th annual staging of the Hague Agricultural Show in Trelawny on Wednesday.

The show, which some have described as perhaps the most successful of shows in recent years, attracted people young and old alike from across the parish and elsewhere.

It was a show that catered to the needs of the patrons, each having his or her own reasons for attending. There were those who attended solely to view the range of agriculture exhibits and farm animals, and to have their children do the same. For others, it was a chance to see and spend a few hours with family and old friends – some of whom they may not have seen for a while. Still, for others, and the teenagers in particular, it was a chance to gallivant.

But it was not all fun and frolic. There were those present whose sole purpose for attending was to conduct business, namely the vendors. There were the pedlars of bottled water and the providers of hot meals and children’s amusement rides, who seemed to be doing brisk business.

If the long lines were anything to go by, the children it seemed, could not get enough of the amusement rides, while adults could not get enough of the finger-licking jerk chicken and pork on offer.

“Everything bless,” one smiling jerk chicken vendor from Montego Bay told the Observer. He added that, up to late Wednesday afternoon, he had sold in excess of four hundred pounds of chicken.

However, not all vendors were as fortunate. There were those, like two individuals selling toys, who complained bitterly that “nutten naw gwan”.

The event culminated with a reggae concert that featured performances from the Fab Five Band.