Type Local, cultural | Observances Yearly | |
 | ||
Official name Festival Nacional de la Quenepa Significance The city's official fruit Celebrations Music, dancing, crafts, food | ||
The Festival Nacional de la Quenepa (English: National Genip Fruit Festival) is a cultural celebration that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The festival centers on the genip fruit, the city's official fruit. The celebration lasts three days and takes place over a weekend (Friday through Sunday). It is generally held on the second weekend of August, but occasionally during a weekend in September. It is sponsored by the Ponce Municipal Government.
Contents
History
The festival is one of the newest in the Western Hemisphere. It was started in 2008. It was proposed by Jorge Fernández Torres, a municipal government employee, to the Municipal Government in January 2008.
It takes place at Plaza Las Delicias, the city's central square. The festival takes place during August, but sometimes in September. The event has been held, at least once, at Parque Ecológico Urbano.
Events
The festival includes arts and crafts, food, folkloric music, games, and plenty of farmers market quenepas. It also includes a competition for the most unusual quenepa-based dish. All the activities of the festival center on the genip fruit. As such, much of the foods, from cakes to juices, are based genip fruit recipes. Likewise, crafts are made, displayed and sold that are based on the seed of the genip fruit.