The 64th annual fruit show - the final event of the annual summer festival in the Nilgiris this year was inaugurated by Nilgiris district collector, M. Aruna on Friday, May 24, 2024.
The main attraction at the show was a 15-feet-tall exhibit made of grapes of ‘King Kong’, an iconic fictional ape popularized in movies and television shows. The exhibit was created using more than 1.75 tonnes of grapes, the horticulture department said.
Other exhibits of fictional cartoon characters were also on exhibit, mostly to attract the attention of young children, said officials, adding that the exhibits were created using 1.5 tonnes of lemons, grapes, oranges and other fruits.
The 64th fruit show started at Sims park in Coonoor | Photo Credit: M. Sathyamoorthy
As the Sims Park in Coonoor, where the fruit show is being held, celebrates 150-years since its founding this year, a total of 150 varieties of fruits are being exhibited during the fruit show this year, the horticulture department added.
Visitors to the fruit show were also given flowering plants this year, while a number of cultural events have been planned during the course of the three-day festival, which ends on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
Nilgiris district collector, M. Aruna, who inaugurated the fruit show, invited tourists to visit Coonoor and the fruit show. This year, due to the parliamentary elections, the summer festival shows in the Nilgiris, which usually includes five events, including the Spice Show in Gudalur and the Vegetable Show in Kotagiri, was restricted to the Rose Show, Flower Show and Fruit Show.
