Crowds Flock to Blue Hills for 9th Annual Conch Festival

Turks & Caicos News – December 2012

Crowds Flock to Blue Hills for 9th Annual Conch Festival

The 9th annual Conch Festival in Blue Hills once again drew crowds of hungry patrons to celebrate the Turks and Caicos Islands’ famous shell fish culinary delight with conch themed contests, music and plenty of conch dishes.

The festival saw hundreds of people lined up to get a taste of the dozens of conch dishes being served at the annual celebration. Numerous resorts and restaurants competed for prizes in the four conch categories, while the Home Kitchen competition saw, for the first time, domestic culinary creationists offer up their variations on the tasty mollusks.

In addition to the cook off styled “conch-etition,” there were contests for conch blowing, where contestants won awards for holding a note the longest on horns fashioned from conch shells, and conch knocking, where contestants had to be the fastest in getting the sea creatures out of their shells.

The competitions were given an educational introduction by Cultural Director David Bowen, who showcased the historical and cultural importance of the events.

Children played near the beach and participated in various activities such as kite flying and face painting while adults not engaged in judging the dishes treated themselves to mojitos, jerk chicken and good music while celebrating the event with friends and family.

Vendors and tents were lined up showing off various conch related merchandise and promoting awareness for conch and the environment which keeps the creature growing in our waters. Throughout the event there was music playing courtesy of a local DJ and a live band, and after sunset guests were created to a rush from the renowned Junkanoo Band.

The winners of the cook off were announced later in the evening, with top prizes for best conch chowder going to Parallel 23, best conch salad going to Seaside Café, best specialty conch going to Bay Bistro, and best in show going to Bay Bistro as well. The Home Kitchen top prize was awarded to Casimira Almonte.

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Turks & Caicos Free Press Newspaper, November 29th, 2012

To view more information and photos please visit the Conch Festival website.