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Anna Maloney-Forde (left), of the Barbados Cactus and Succulent Society; and Vice President of the Barbados Cactus and Succulent Society, Diane Atkins-Bruce, as they presented a token of appreciation to Governor General, Dame Sandra Mason, while Independent Senator, Alphea Wiggins, looks on.

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Dame Maizie Barker-Welch was also in attendance. Here, Rackelia Hyde (centre) and Analiah Forde, of the Lester Vaughan Secondary School, show off vegetables grown in their school’s garden.

Governor General attends Agrofest

Yesterday’s heavy showers were not enough to keep Governor General, Dame Sandra Mason, from visiting Agrofest.

Despite the weather, the Governor General was able to take part in the annual tour of the festival, which was held at Queen’s Park, and enjoyed interacting with persons at their booths, before settling down to observe the judging of the animals.

The Governor General’s sisters, Leila White and Maureen Braithwaite, along with Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society, James Paul and Independent Senator, Alphea Wiggins were also part of the entourage that toured the park.

During her tour, Dame Sandra paid a visit to the Barbados Cactus and Succulent Society's booth, where Vice President of the Society, Diane Atkins-Bruce, and Anna Maloney-Forde, made a brief presentation to her.

Dame Sandra graciously received her token, mentioning that she was happy for such a thoughtful gift as she was particularly interested in the plants this year.

It seemed like there were more tourists at yesterday’s event.

Lesley and Mike Norman, tourists from the United Kingdom expressed that they were very impressed with yesterday’s festivities, noting that they were not even planning on attending the event as it was not in their plans.

Lesley noted, however, that after passing by Queen’s Park, they could not resist and decided to spend the day at the event based on its appeal.

She stated that they also had a festival in the UK that featured many of the same things being featured at Agrofest.

The couple was particularly interested in what was being showcased by the Grantley Adams Memorial Secondary School, as the students at the booth showed off what they had learnt during their cosmetology course.

Gillian Trotman, cosmetologist trainer at the school, highlighted that everyone was talking about the fact that things needed to be geared towards helping students learn more skill sets, however, the progress towards making that a reality is a slow one.

“We’re hearing that everything is more geared towards skill sets, but we’re not seeing it as yet. So we need to actually see that push because we have a lot of students who are not high in academia, so they need the skill sets to survive,” she said.

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