A St.Thomas Grassroots Gathering
I've heard of bake sales, I've heard of formal dinners but I had never heard of food sales for political candidates. That's until I dropped by a St. Thomas food sale for the campaign of U.S. Virgin Islands Governor John deJongh.
My St. Thomas expert Karen, invited me to the grassroots event, which was held in a parking lot. Caribbean dishes like curried chicken and goat, rice and peas, grilled fish and fungi, the Virgin Islands staple of corn meal and okra.
deJongh, above, really grabbed an early start for the November elections but you can never start too early when it comes to fundraising. The place was packed with hundreds of voters buying food and shaking the Governor's hand. I think holding food sales for political candidates is an interesting St. Thomas custom. Don't think it would work in Chicago, though. Have you discovered any unexpected customs on your travels?
Comments
Avis, I really don't think it would work here. It wasn't a sit down picnic type event, it was all carryout.
An unexpected event I came across was in Sth Korea. When it came to the presidential elections each candidate had a specially made truck with their own jingle and group of young disco/hiphop style dancers roaming around in cheerleader fashion. It reminded me of when the circus came to town in story books. I like your story more.
Great post.
Greetings from London.
Cubano,Oh yes, we do.
Jean-Luc, I don't know if you only buy the food if you're voting for him but it was tempting enough to forget who your candidate is.
The most interesting custom I've observed to date is the Russian habit of newlywed couples travelling around (with the whole wedding party, so far as we could tell) to have their photo taken in front of all the local landmarks.