June is Caribbean American Heritage Month, and it\u2019s also the peak of mango season. The favorite fruit of the islands is at the heart of the big celebration, and Deco\u2019s got all the juicy details.<\/p>\n
How sweet it is! It\u2019s time for the annual Mango Festival.<\/p>\n
Calibe Thompson: \u201cIt\u2019s a Mango Festival, it\u2019s a mango extravaganza.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Island Space Caribbean Museum inside the Broward Mall, they\u2019re getting ready for the big blow-out.<\/p>\n
Calibe Thompson: \u201cIsland SPACE Caribbean Museum is the only pan-caribbean heritage museum in the world, and we wanted to celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month with the king of all fruit, so we married mangoes and June, and we have our mango celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty going on at this party.<\/p>\n
Calibe Thompson: \u201cYou are going to have a family-friendly indoor celebration of all things mango, we have live chef demonstrations, we have dancing, we have vendors.\u201d<\/p>\n
All you papa\u2019s out there, listen up. The spotlight shines on you, as well.<\/p>\n
Calibe Thompson: \u201cA new feature called the daddies kingdom, that\u2019s where, because we\u2019re doing this on Father\u2019s Day, fathers get pampered, they can sit on a throne with a crown and scepter, they get all kinds of treats and free gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll come out of the event as an expert on this fabulous fruit. Plenty of mango-centric workshops are on hand.<\/p>\n
First thing you\u2019ll learn, there are a lot of different mangoes out there.<\/p>\n
Calibe Thompson: \u201cI can tell you we had a container of mangoes brought in from Jamaica, so we\u2019ll have about a dozen varieties from the Caribbean, and in our mango walk, you can see dozens of varieties from South Florida and elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the chefs who\u2019ll be whipping up some mango magic is local legend, Chef Irie.<\/p>\n
Chef Irie: \u201cThis is my first time participating in the festival, so I\u2019m happy to be here this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chefs come up with a dish that sounds like heaven.<\/p>\n
Chef Irie: \u201cSpiced shrimp with a mango butter sauce, a mango relish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once you see Irie\u2019s masterpiece on the plate, you\u2019ll know why these three words are his motto.<\/p>\n
Chef Irie: \u201cMango is life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Island SPACE Mango Festival goes down this Sunday at Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines.<\/p>\n