SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – The rain that fell may not have been enough to dampen the mood of patrons to the fourth annual curry festival at the Mannings School last Sunday, but the lack of variety in the food on offer certainly was.

As the rain came down, the umbrellas went up and the crowd continued to rock to the music of the Fab 5 band. However, while their spirits were not brought low by the rain, patrons complained of a lack of variety in the curried dishes that were on offer.

The variety, they said, was limited, compared to previous years.

One disappointed woman thought that the festival had lost its flavour and urged the organisers to get back to the drawing board to ensure that the essence of the event was maintained.

“This is no curry festival,” she said. “This is a hustling. We came here to see what they can do with curry. Instead, we can’t even get food to buy; and most of it is not even curry,” she complained.

Chairman of the Westmoreland Curry Festival Committee, Aryl Pennycooke, said that the lack of variety was due to the inability of some of the regular vendors to afford the $10,000-booth at the festival.

That concern aside, the event itself attracted the usual large turnout of patrons who, despite the rains, poured onto the compound. There were those who hastily bought their food before rushing back to their cars, but most simply brandished their umbrellas as they delighted in the range of activities that included:

. a culinary competition,

. a fun park, and

. various eating and dancing competitions.

Those activities kept patrons occupied until darkness engulfed the venue and many persons began their retreat from the compound.

Meanwhile, Pennycooke said that despite the heavy downpour and the disappointment with the variety of foods on offer, the festival would be able to make a financial contribution to help improve the sewerage system at the Mannings School.