Thousands of people enjoyed the sunshine at the 73rd Annual Exhibition yesterday.Popular exhibits such as the rose cuttings, farm animals and kite displays returned for the event. This year 3,700 people participated in the exhibition, setting a new record.Young school children flocked to the lower ring to watch various performances from the Island’s schools.Zakiyyah Shakir brought students from Clara Mohammed School to the exhibition.“We are absolutely loving it,” she said. “We come every year. The weather is amazing.“We’ve watched most of the school performances and they are very diverse. The students have enjoyed it but I prefer the horse jumping.”The food stalls were also packed. A long line waited for fish at St Paul’s AME Church stall.Kay Thomas was organising the stall and said they had served over 100 people by 1pm.“This is the first time we have done a stall,” she said. “I can’t believe how hungry Bermuda is!“We are raising money for our church’s building fund.”Seven-year-old Claudia Fortuna of MSA spent the morning touring the exhibition. She decided to get a flower painted on her face before lunch.“It was fun,” she said. “I like the horses. They jump and do tricks.”Russ and Vicki Mueller are visiting from Virginia in the US. They found out about the event from their St George’s hotel.Mr Mueller said: “It is our first time here in Bermuda and we are enjoying the Annual Exhibition. It is great to see all the children in their uniforms. They are all very polite.”Mrs Mueller added: “It is great to watch them learning from all the exhibits.”Premier Paula Cox officially opened the exhibition yesterday and said it brought out the best in Bermudians.“During a time of cost cutting there are some things you do not cut, things you must preserve,” she said.She added that she had seen many of the exhibits and was proud of Bermuda’s produce and people.This year the Annual Exhibition’s theme is living green and a number of environmental groups were on hand to show the impact littering has on the ocean surrounding Bermuda.Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Department of Waste Management and Recycle Bermuda played a documentary depicting the trash in the ocean surrounding Bermuda.On display were also recyclable critters and art made from plastic that washed up on Bermuda’s beaches.The six-minute documentary, shot in Bermuda by Channel One News in the US, stated that hundreds of thousands of tiny pieces of plastic are floating together between Bermuda and the Azores.They are bound together by the Gulf Stream Current, North Atlantic Current, Canary Current and North Atlantic Equatorial Current.It is known as the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch, and it could be as big as the well-documented Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the central North Pacific Ocean.Scientists aboard the Sea Education Association sailing vessel Corwith Cramer visited Bermuda in July last year when the documentary was shot after spending more than 30 days at sea trawling for plastic.The booths at the Annual Exhibition aim to teach residents about the impact of littering and not recycling on the ocean surrounding the Island.Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess spoke about the Annual Exhibition’s environmental theme at the opening ceremony yesterday.He said: “Through this message the show intends to promote many of the concepts of living in a manner that is beneficial for both us and the environment. Many of the exhibits and displays reflect this message.”In addition to the traditional exhibits and events at the exhibition there are also displays about:l Energy use and conservation;l Impact of overdevelopment in Bermuda;l The Importance of preserving open space;l Water conservation;l Educational displays; and,l The importance of bees and information about Colony Collapse Disorder.The documentary can be viewed on The Royal Gazette’s website www.royalgazette.bm.