‘In Praise of Plants’ is a project to record varied rituals and celebrations involving food plants throughout the year – from the giant leek championships of northern England to the ancient, deeply spiritual ceremonies held across Asia to celebrate the harvesting of rice or the Andes in honour of potatoes and maize; from Germany's Onion festival to Mexico’s ‘Night of the Radishes’.
'In Praise of Plants' aims to record local people’s stories as well as the wider cultural and economic background of each plant’s use, as a means of exploring both what these plants mean to the people who grow them and what factors are affecting their cultivation today.
Though a large number of food plant festivals now have a distinctly commercial feel or may involve produce grown elsewhere, many still reflect a deep pride and passion felt by people for plants that have been grown locally for many generations.
The Sagra della Mostarda e del Fico d’India, a Sicilian celebration of the prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is an example of one of Europe's many food plant festivals.
You can read here about the
Prickly Pear Festival.
 Prickly Pear expert and grower Dr. Francesco Le Favi |
 A tray of prickly pears |
 Notice of the Sagra |
 Militello from the Church of the Calvary |
 Trays of prickly pears |
 Prepared prickly pears |
 Horse parade at the sagra |
 Mastrazolla |
 Horse parade at the sagra |
 Prickly pears growing wild |