The Southern Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) will, this weekend, host an International Food Fair and Banana Festival as part of Vieux Fort's Independence activities.

The festival will be held on Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Phillip Marcellin Grounds, and will highlight Saint Lucian culture and foods.

STDC Vice President Julius James said the organization has always had a desire to make the food fair an attractive and fun experience for the entire family.

"The past STDC board experimented with a trade fair, then something agricultural. This year we thought: banana is a food, and banana is something that is part of Saint Lucian culture, so we thought that we should highlight the banana.”

The STDC was established in 1998 with a mission to stimulate and co-ordinate the development of tourism in the south of the island.

James said although the organization went through a dormant period from 2009 to 2015, now under a new executive it is ready to showcase the south as a choice tourism destination.

He listed the many attractions that make Vieux Fort suitable for development as part of the national tourism product.

“I can begin with the miles of beaches. I could begin with the open space. I could begin with the fishing sector, and physical attractions like Moule-a-Chique,” he said.

The STDC's International Food Fair and Banana Festival will open at 11a.m. and end at 10 p.m.