The Ag Show is no more, according to Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Randy Horton - the name of the annual three-day event has been changed from the Annual Agricultural Exhibition to the Bermuda Annual Exhibition.

"It's not really just an Ag Show anymore," explained Mr. Horton. For example, one of the events the exhibition will feature this year is a continuation of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in which Bermuda participated in Washington, D.C. in 2001.

The Folklife Festival is expected to be featured during the Ag Show bi-annually at least, said Mr. Horton, and hopefully annually. Last year the Festival was featured at the Ag Show to give Bermudians who were not able to travel to Washington in 2001 the chance to see the exhibit.

"We realise that culture is the soul of any society," he said. "It is important for us to preserve, enhance, and promote Bermudian heritage and culture to our people. That is absolutely critical.

"The more people who know about who they are, the more sense of identity they will have towards Bermuda - this means a rise in pride and self-esteem."

The Folklife Festival in Washington, he said, was a platform from which to ensure people were receiving information about their culture and heritage.

"We said look, we've got to share this with the people in Bermuda," said Mr. Horton. "Let them get to know who some of these tradition bearers are."

This year the Bermuda Annual Exhibition, the Folklife Festival will feature Arts of Play, what Bermudians do for play; Arts of the Land, horticulture, food ways, and narrative sessions.