Breadfruit Festival

Live music, poetry, the Parade of the Re-enactment of the First Planting, drumming and Kumina dancing all celebrate the humble breadfruit at Bath’s annual Breadfruit Festival. Made into chips, cakes and wines, it is a staple of the Jamaican diet.

When many slaves were dying of starvation due to drought in Jamaica, the planters of the West Indies persuaded King George III to mount an expedition to collect ‘bread’ from a wonderful tree growing in the Pacific Islands. William Bligh, commander of the expedition on the Bounty ship, attempted to transport the plants from the islands of Timor and Tahiti.

However, his pesky crew mutinied, threw the plants overboard and set Bligh adrift in an open boat. Bligh survived and eventually succeeded on the HMS Providence.